CIPP-US - Limits on Private-Sector Collection and Use of Data (31% of the exam) - Section 2.5

Identify obligations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, and CAN-SPAM Act for marketing communications.

Identify the TCPA's prior express written consent requirement for autodialled or prerecorded calls and texts, and the Do Not Call Registry obligations under the Telemarketing Sales Rule. Compare CAN-SPAM's opt-out, identification, and subject-line requirements for commercial email with the stricter consent-first approach of the TCPA for voice and text channels.

TCPATelemarketing Sales RuleCAN-SPAMDo Not Call Registry

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleLimits on Private-Sector Collection and Use of Datamedium

A retailer plans a marketing push that sends promotional SMS text messages using an automatic dialling platform to mobile numbers it gathered through online sign-ups. The compliance lead reasons that because the messages are written, they fall under the email marketing statute and require only accurate headers, an opt-out link, and a postal address. Which assessment of the governing law for these autodialled marketing texts is correct?

ACAN-SPAM governs the texts because it covers all electronic commercial messages, so accurate headers, an opt-out link, and a postal address are the complete compliance set.
BThe Telemarketing Sales Rule governs the texts and requires the retailer to scrub the recipient list against the national Do Not Call Registry before sending.
CThe TCPA governs these autodialled marketing texts and requires prior express written consent, so treating SMS as if CAN-SPAM's email rules alone applied understates the obligation. Correct
DNo federal statute governs marketing text messages, so the retailer need only follow the platform vendor's terms of service to send the campaign lawfully.

Autodialled marketing text messages are governed by the TCPA and its prior express written consent standard, not by CAN-SPAM's email rules alone. Autodialled or pre-recorded marketing texts to wireless numbers are regulated as calls under the TCPA, which requires prior express written consent, so a marketer cannot satisfy its obligations merely by following CAN-SPAM's header, opt-out, and postal-address requirements for email.

Why A is wrong: Tempting because texts are electronic and written, but CAN-SPAM centres on commercial email; autodialled marketing texts are regulated as calls under the TCPA, so CAN-SPAM's checklist is not the complete or controlling standard.

Why B is wrong: Tempting because the TSR addresses telemarketing, but the Do Not Call registry and TSR framework target voice sales calls, and the consent standard for autodialled marketing texts comes from the TCPA, so naming the TSR as governing is incorrect.

Why C is correct: Correct: the FCC and courts treat autodialled marketing text messages as calls under the TCPA, which demands prior express written consent for such messages, so leaning solely on CAN-SPAM's email duties misses the controlling and stricter standard.

Why D is wrong: Tempting because text-specific rules feel like a gap, but the TCPA squarely covers autodialled marketing texts; relying on a vendor's terms instead of federal consent law would leave the campaign unlawful, so this is wrong.

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Exam traps in Limits on Private-Sector Collection and Use of Data

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the CIPP-US bank for this domain.

The CAN-SPAM Act established the registry, and the Federal Communications Commission promulgated it under its email rule-making authority.
Why it is wrong: Tempting because CAN-SPAM is a marketing statute and the FCC handles communications, but CAN-SPAM concerns email and did not create the Do Not Call Registry, so both elements are wrong.
Accurate header information and a valid physical postal address in each text satisfy the company's consent duty
Why it is wrong: Headers and a postal address are CAN-SPAM email requirements and do not substitute for the TCPA consent that autodialled marketing texts require.
Prior express consent given orally at the checkout counter, with no need for any written record of the agreement.
Why it is wrong: Oral consent can suffice for some non-marketing informational calls, but autodialled marketing texts require the higher written standard, so this understates the obligation.

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