Last Thursday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order confirming that companies must include opt-out instructions on all fax ads, even for recipients who previously agreed to receive a fax from the company. The order clarifies that solicited fax ads, like unsolicited ads, must also comply with the rules set forth in the FCC’s 2006 Junk Fax Prevention Order.  All fax ads must contain an opt-out notice that (1) is clear and conspicuous and on the first page of the ad, (2) states that the recipient may make a request to the sender not to send any future ads, and (3) contains a domestic phone and fax number so that the recipient has a contact for opt-out purposes.

Capital One Financial Corp. (“Capital One”) and three collection agencies have agreed to pay one of the largest settlement amounts in history — $75.5 million — to end a consolidated class action lawsuit alleging that the companies used an automated dialer to call customers’ cellphones without consent in violation of the twenty-two-year-old Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). Judge Holderman of the Northern District of Illinois preliminarily approved the settlement in late July. 

On October 16, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) new rule implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) will go into effect. 

These are rules with teeth, as the TCPA allows recovery of anywhere between $500 and $1,500 for each improper communication and does not require a showing of actual injury.  This makes the TCPA a particularly attractive vehicle for class actions.  Accordingly, we highlight some of the more salient changes in the new rule below.