Issue 12

Quick Hits from December
Before we get to the annual recap, here are the biggest headlines from December. On December 13, the FCC made the expected move to pass the latest ruling effectively closing the “lead generation loophole” on a 4-1 vote. Our resident LeadsCon legal columnists Deborah Solmor and Terance Gonsalves have you covered on one-to-one consent and what this means for the industry in this week’s Inside Out column. And ICYMI, we sat down with a panel of industry experts (legal, AI and brand-side representatives) to break down the impact of this ruling while discussing what opportunities lie ahead for the lead gen community in 2024.

2023 = The Year of Lead Gen Legislation
Back in February, the FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed “new” rules set to dramatically impact lead gen practices, robocalls, and text messaging. On March 16, the FCC finalized rules that require carriers to block robotext messages that are likely to be illegal. The Hill’s Scott Goodstein had an interesting take on the hypocrisy of this measure. Over the summer in July, the full Eleventh Circuit ruled that the reception of a solitary, unsolicited text message constitutes a violation, granting standing to sue in federal court under the TCPA. Jenniffer Cabrera of Troutman Amin, LLC posted a deep dive on the ruling, noting “It is not the degree of the injury but rather the kind of injury necessary to establish Article III standing.”

Enforcement Actions Gain Steam
In May 2023, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, VoIP provider Avid Telecom “chose profit over running a business that conforms to state and federal law.” The press release noted that Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers in 7.5 billion calls to telephone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. Avid Telecom owner Michael Lansky, and its vice president Stacey Reeves were named in the suit which was filed by 48 States and Washington, D.C. Back in August, the Federal Communications Commission levied a whopping fine of nearly $300M against an auto warranty operation run by Roy M. Cox and Aaron Michael Jones. Re-recorded voice calls to mobile phones without having prior express consent, violating spoofing laws, dialing numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry; Cox and Jones ran through the Greatest Hits of Bad Lead Gen Actors during their three-month span which included 5 billion robocalls to 500 million numbers. The next month in September, an Illinois federal court ruled that lead generator Day Pacer and three of the company’s executives violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) over 4 million times. The defendants’ claims, including that the TSR is unconstitutional, were all rejected by the court. Alston & Bird’s Terance Gonsalves has an insightful breakdown of this ruling and the case in which the defendants made “at least 3,669,914 calls to phone numbers on the DNC registry.”

Industry Innovation & Partnerships Drive Headlines
On March 6, Digital Media Solutions announced an agreement to acquire HomeQuote.io, a digital marketplace that operates in high-value end markets such as roofing, windows and doors, bathrooms, kitchens, siding and gutters. Lead generation tech platform PX fortified its offerings in the solar market with the acquisition of the assets of solar lead gen firm Colossus, according to an April 4 announcement. "The team has significant experience in the solar industry, which is a space that offers a lot of growth opportunities for our marketplace and significant potential network effects and upside for our customers and partners,” said Frans Van Hulle, CEO and co-founder of PX. In September, Lead Prosper introduced a new feature that gives users the ability to securely pass sensitive data from a supplier to a buyer, without ever storing the actual values. The announcement is particularly relevant for financial verticals including mortgages, business loans, auto loans, and Medicare users working with sensitive information like social security numbers, banking details and credit card information.

LeadsCon 2024 - Preliminary Agenda Details Available Now!
It’s clear from the latest FCC ruling that the industry is undergoing a lot of change, and that makes coming together all the more important! Be sure to check out the preliminary agenda for this year’s program featuring insights from American Standard, Google, Sony, State Farm, CrossCountry Mortgage, and many other brands and leaders who are shaping this next phase of lead generation. As a reminder, the industry’s largest gathering of lead generation and marketing professionals will take place April 8-10 at the Paris in Las Vegas. Register this week to ensure you don’t miss out!

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