This week, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that added text messaging to the state of New York’s definition of telemarketing communication for purposes of its no-call registry. The legislation, S.3941/A.6040, closes the loophole that previously exempted businesses from the no-call registry restrictions when the communication was sent via text. The goal is to increase protections for consumers against unwanted text solicitations, which has increased over the last year. Gov. Cuomo said in a media release, “Our consumer protections need to keep pace with technology and New Yorkers who have long been plagued by the nuisance of annoying calls from telemarketers now have to contend with unwanted texts attempting to sell them things they don’t want.” This new restriction will take effect on August 12, 2021. This is a reminder for businesses to keep up (or revamp) their compliance with state do-not-call registry requirements, as well as federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restrictions.
