Are Federal ARM Regulations Antiquated?

John Tallarico

The FTC, in its role of protecting the consumer, has its work cut out for itself.  Current FTC collection regulations are antiquated and ill equipped to protect the consumer in the ever-changing world of available technology.

I recently attended the FTC’s workshop, “Debt Collection 2.0″ Protecting Consumers as Technologies Change.”  The workshop focused on advancements in mobile phones, social media, email and the increasing amount of consumer information that is readily available through a Google search.  It did a good job of framing various forms of technology (predictive dialers and skip tracing, for example), but fell short of impaneling sufficient expertise on mobile messaging and social media and the mechanics of how they work.

Mobile phones are quickly displacing land line phones and regulations must find a way to adapt.  For all those with a vested interest in this shift ─ technology providers, collection firms, consumer advocates and government officials ─ it’s essential to provide clear representation of the facts and guidance to remove existing ambiguity in current regulations.

On May 17, 2011 SoundBite submitted comments to the FTC providing recommendations to improve customer communications over the mobile device.  I believe it is our job as technology innovators to educate the market about the purpose and capabilities of our technologies.  After all, a lot of the functionality being developed today is to help businesses meet their goals while being compliant with government regulations.

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Our opportunity to be heard is here and we must take action.  We strongly urge you to provide comments to the FTC to ensure that any new rules are not drafted in such a narrow manner as to restrict the evolution of new technology and a consumer’s right to their preferred method of communication.

Please visit http://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/debtcollecttechworkshop/ to register your comment.  The FTC record is open for comments until May 27, 2011.

As the Vice President of Product Management for SoundBite Communications, John is responsible for the strategic evolution and delivery of product features and functionality within the company’s cloud-based platforms – SoundBite Engage™ for multi-channel communications and SoundBite Insight for preference management. John frequently participates in regulatory discussions which impact clients, including lobbying efforts with ACA International.  He is also a contributor to the SoundBite Blog.