Have You Received a Spam Voicemail WITHOUT Receiving a Call? The FCC Has News for Those 'Callers'

Media Contact:  

Will Wiquist 

will.wiquist@fcc.gov 

For Immediate Release 

FCC DECLARES THAT ‘RINGLESS VOICEMAILS’ TO CONSUMER  CELL PHONES ARE SUBJECT TO ROBOCALLING RESTRICTIONS  --  

WASHINGTON, November 21, 2022—The Federal Communications Commission today  clarified that callers must obtain a consumer’s consent before delivering “ringless voicemail,” a  message left in a consumer’s mailbox without ringing their cell phone. The unanimous  decision by the full Commission finds that ringless voicemails are, in fact, “calls” that require  consumers’ prior express consent.  

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which protects consumers from unwanted  robocalls, prohibits making any non-emergency call using an automatic telephone dialing  system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a wireless telephone number without the prior  express consent of the called party. The Commission today has clarified that ringless  voicemail is a form of robocall and is illegal if the caller did not have the consumer’s prior  express consent. Violations can be enforced by the FCC or the consumer can sue in court. 

“Imagine finding robocallers leaving junk voicemails on your phone without it ever having  rung. It’s annoying and it’s happening to too many of us. Today we’re taking action to ensure  these deceptive practices don’t find a way around our robocall rules and into consumers’  inboxes,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  

The Declaratory Ruling and Order denies a petition filed by All About the Message, LLC,  which asked the Commission to find that delivery of a message directly to a consumer’s cell  phone voicemail is not a call protected by the TCPA. The FCC is acting on its own motion  after the petitioner and two other similar petitions sought to withdraw their requests for  clarification after the FCC sought public comment and received overwhelming negative  reaction from commenters. The FCC has also received dozens consumer complaints annually  related to ringless voicemail. The ruling goes into effect upon today’s release of the decision. 

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Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov  

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official  action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974