TCPA Compliance
Adherence to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which governs how businesses can contact consumers by phone and text.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a U.S. federal law enacted in 1991 and enforced by the FCC that restricts how businesses can contact consumers via telephone calls, text messages, and faxes. Key requirements include: obtaining prior express written consent before sending marketing texts or making autodialed calls, honoring do-not-call requests promptly, respecting calling-hours restrictions (generally 8am–9pm local time), and maintaining internal do-not-call lists.
TCPA violations carry significant financial exposure — $500 to $1,500 per violation, with class action lawsuits sometimes reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. For small businesses, the most common TCPA risks involve text message marketing without proper opt-in consent and robocall campaigns targeting consumers without consent.
Key TCPA compliance practices for business texting include: obtaining explicit written opt-in consent before sending marketing messages, providing a clear opt-out mechanism (typically replying STOP), honoring opt-outs within 10 business days, and keeping records of consent. Zonitel's SMS platform supports opt-in/opt-out management, and A2P 10DLC registration — which Zonitel handles during onboarding — is a prerequisite for compliant business texting at scale.