Get Ready For New Telemarketing Rules

Here's some news for agencies and brands that market via phone to consumers in Connecticut: On October 1, 2014, Connecticut's new telemarketing law goes into effect. The new law significantly expands Connecticut's existing "do not call" law and arguably departs from the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 and its accompanying rules (the "TCPA"). Here are some important points to consider:

Broader coverage?

Remember that the TCPA requires marketers to obtain prior express written consent for telephone calls or texts made using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes "telemarketing." While Connecticut similarly prohibits telemarketers from making automatically dialed telephonic sales calls without the prior express written consent of a consumer, the definition of a "telephonic sales" call is arguably broader under the Connecticut law than under its