TCPA's 2015 Government-Debt Collection Exception Struck Down- Now What?

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants held the government-debt exception of the TCPA unconstitutional under the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause. This means that going forward, companies that make "debt-collection" calls on behalf of the federal government can only do so with the prior express written consent of the called individuals.

The plaintiffs in this case had argued that the TCPA violated the First Amendment because it was a content-based restriction on speech that did not serve a compelling governmental interest. Their concern related to the TCPA prohibition (in many situations) of unsolicited, automated calls to cell phones. In particular, the 2015 amendment to add a new exception only for unsolicited automated calls related to the collection of debts on behalf of the federal government. The American Association of Political Consultants and other political nonprofit organizations challenged this