Telemarketing Lead Generator: Are There Too Many “Marketing Partners”? | | Venable LLP

For years, lead generators have obtained phone numbers for clients to call by obtaining consumer consent to receive calls from specific entities specifically identified by the lead generator. rice field. A typical model is to receive marketing calls from some of the lead generator’s marketing partners specified in the consent request, using language that asks for consumer consent via checkboxes or the like.

A common variation on this model is to include a clickable reference to “Marketing Partners” in consent language instead of a list of partners by name. Certain marketing partners are only shown if a consumer clicks on a link to view the list of marketing partner names provided by her lead generator.

In some cases, the Marketing Partners list may include dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of names. With such a long list, you might wonder how many names are on the list of Marketing Partners for consumers to meaningfully consent to receiving calls and texts. As recently declared by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the answer is 5,329. In practice, that number may be much lower.

FCC Urth Access, LLC Order

In December 2022, the FCC issued an order to crack down on alleged illegal robocalls made by Urth Access, LLC and affiliates that made approximately 40% of all student loan robocalls to consumers in October 2022. Did. The purpose of this order is to notify voice service providers of a “student loan robocall operation” and have them block traffic from the student loan robocall operation.

According to the FCC, Urth Access student loan robocall operations violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending pre-recorded voice messages without the consent of the called party (and for no urgent purpose). The FCC stated that the “Marketing Partners” link would only appear to consumers if the consumer clicked on certain hyperlinks, so when obtaining the explicit written consent required by the TCPA, the FCC , reasoned that the student loan robocall operation did not provide the required “clear and conspicuous disclosures.” A second website containing the names of each of the 5,329 entities.

The FCC states that “listing more than 5,000 ‘Marketing Partners’ on a secondary website is not sufficient to prove that the called party consented to a call from one of these ‘Marketing Partners’. concluded.

How should lead generators proceed?

Consent to send telemarketing calls and text messages has always been a tricky issue. Lead generators should discuss consent language and mechanisms with competent counsel to ensure compliance with consent requirements under the TCPA, Federal Trade Commission Telemarketing Sales Regulations, and fast-growing state laws . Consent is required. However, there are some principles that provide a useful starting point.

• First, setting consumer expectations about who they can call or text can help avoid complaints. Specifically listing a manageable number of identifiable companies within the text of the consent disclosure itself is easier to defend than a hyperlinked list of Marketing Partners, especially if the list of Marketing Partners is more than a few names. There is a possibility.
• Second, confirm that the entity calling or texting the consumer offers the type of product or service that the consumer expects to receive information from. For example, in the Urth Access case, the FCC found that the lead generation website where the student loan robocall operation collected consumer phone numbers was ostensibly seeking leads for health insurance products or services, not student loans. pointed out. Therefore, consumers who signed up through these sites may have expected to receive calls about health care and not about student loans. The practice of indiscriminately selling lead information to buyers has long been a red flag for law enforcement agencies, regardless of whether the buyer’s products or services match the consumer’s interests.
• Third, lead generators should have effective protocols in place to scrutinize their marketing practices for compliance practices. We may place limits on how and when a lead can be used, or the number of named buyers who can use a lead. One of the key aspects of compliance monitoring is expeditiously terminating business relationships when partners violate policies or protocols or show evidence of harm to consumers. This step is usually financially difficult, but critical to the long-term success of your business.