Prepare for the FCC Lead Generator Compliance Changes

On December 13, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed the “lead generator loophole law,” introducing significant changes for organizations that buy and sell marketing and sales leads by implementing new consent requirements.

While these new requirements won’t take effect until January 27, 2025, organizations need to start preparing now for how to obtain consent with the new lead generator laws.

New Lead Generator Requirements

Several changes will go into effect under the FCC’s lead generation laws to address consumer protection and ensure compliance.

1. One-to-One Consent

Under the new FCC rules on lead generation, sellers performing sales outreach using text messages or calls must obtain a consumer’s explicit one-to-one prior express written consent. This applies to one seller at a time and includes autodialers and prerecorded messages. Each seller must have direct permission to contact a consumer, and mass marketing campaigns based on generic consents will no longer be valid.

2. Clear and Conspicuous Disclosures

Businesses are required to provide clear and conspicuous disclosure when obtaining consent. This means informing consumers upfront that they will receive robotexts or robocalls from a specific seller.

3. Topically Related Content

When contacting a consumer, the content must be “logically related” to their initial request for information. For example, a consumer who expresses interest in mortgage quotes cannot be contacted about unrelated products, such as car loans or credit cards, without additional consent.

4. Recordkeeping Requirements

Recordkeeping plays a central role in ensuring compliance. Lead compilers and sellers must provide a legally compliant record of consent to any callers or senders. This ensures the burden of proof falls on the caller or sender, who must maintain consent records on file before any robocall or robotext can be made and update them if consumers opt out. Failure to meet these compliance standards can lead to TCPA violations.

How to Obtain Consent with New Requirements

Prior to the lead generator loophole law, the TCPA did not explicitly address lead generation practices. Now, the same consent laws that apply to calling/texting outreach apply to lead generation.

Be Proactive: Start Early

Before these changes take effect, begin obtaining one-to-one consent now. Reach out to both customers and prospects, ensuring you follow the new one-to-one consent rules. Gaining consent early allows you to update your contact compliance strategy and ensure that all outreach efforts comply with the upcoming lead generation laws.

Take a Multi-Channel Approach

Implement an omnichannel strategy to capture consent across different platforms. For instance, send email campaigns to secure consent for future text messaging or phone calls. Ensure your consent process includes clear instructions, such as “I consent to receive text messages from [specific seller].”

Record and Maintain Consent

As part of your compliance strategy, it’s critical to maintain detailed records of all consents. Ensure that you can provide a full consent record upon request, demonstrating that valid, explicit consent was obtained. This is particularly important when dealing with leads generated under older rules, as these may not meet the 2025 consent requirements.

Create Clear Opt-In Strategies

When collecting consent through web forms, provide consumers with an easy way to select which companies they want to hear from. Use a checkbox list so consumers can choose individual sellers and ensure that you follow TCPA compliance rules when obtaining consent for any additional outreach.

How Gryph for Compliance Can Help

Managing consent can be a complex and time-consuming task, but Gryph for Compliance offers a real-time, automated contact compliance solution that helps enterprise businesses pre-emptively eliminate DNC and TCPA compliance risk across the entire organization.

Gryph for Compliance helps organizations manage the collection, storage, and documentation of consumer consent. This centralized platform ensures that each consumer’s preferences are properly recorded, providing real-time updates on changes in consent status to minimize risk and ensure you’re always in line with FCC lead generation requirements.

By automating the compliance process, Gryphon allows your team to focus on business development while safeguarding your company against TCPA violations and collections compliance risks. Contact us today to learn more.

Get Ready for 2025

With just a few months left before the FCC lead generation laws go into effect, businesses must act now to implement a compliant consent management strategy. Taking a proactive approach to contact compliance will ensure that you can continue reaching consumers while minimizing legal risk.

Start by reviewing your current processes and adapting them to the new lead generator loophole law. Ensure that all consent is one-to-one, properly documented, and logically related to the services consumers originally requested.

By addressing these requirements today, your organization will be well-prepared for the 2025 lead generation compliance changes—and ready to maintain a strong, compliant outreach program.