Law / United States / 
Massachusetts
Telemarketing Solicitation Act
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 159C, §§ 1-3, 5A, 8, 9
In force since .
A telephone contact rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition, Disclosure
What it requires
- Do not place an unsolicited telephonic sales call to a consumer whose name and telephone number appear on the office's current no sales solicitation calls listing, call between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time at the consumer's location, send the solicitation by fax, or use a recorded message device.NIST Privacy FrameworkCT.PO-P3NIST Privacy FrameworkCT.PO-P1
- Identify yourself, the company you are calling on behalf of, and the purpose of the call within the first minute of a telephonic sales call, before requesting, accepting, or arranging for payment, and disclose the ultimate seller's name and a complete and accurate description of the goods or services offered, including their retail value, plus the cost, any restrictions, and the refund and cancellation terms, before accepting payment.NIST Privacy FrameworkCM.AW-P1
- These duties apply only to an unsolicited telephonic sales call: they do not reach a call the consumer requested, a call primarily about an existing debt or unfinished contract, a call to your own existing customer of the previous 24 months who has not asked you to stop, a call whose sale is not completed until a face-to-face meeting, a tax-exempt nonprofit's call, or a noncommercial poll or survey.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
In the frameworks
- NIST Privacy Framework
- CT.PO-P1Policies, processes, and procedures for authorizing data processing (e.g., organizational decisions, individual consent), revoking authorizations, and maintaining authorizations are established and in place.
- CT.PO-P3Policies, processes, and procedures for enabling individuals’ data processing preferences and requests are established and in place.
- CM.AW-P1Mechanisms (e.g., notices, internal or public reports) for communicating data processing purposes, practices, associated privacy risks, and options for enabling individuals’ data processing preferences and requests are established and in place.
- FINOS AIGF
- AIR-PREV-005System Acceptance Testing
- AIR-DET-021Agent Decision Audit and Explainability
Our reading of where this law's duties sit in each framework, and in the NIST Privacy Framework, line by line beside each duty above. It never says that running a control meets the law. How we read a framework against the law
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalty structure
The Attorney General's civil penalty is capped at $5,000 for each knowing violation, with a $1,500 floor where the violation involves a consumer 65 years of age or older; a private plaintiff's own action is a separate track, with statutory damages of its own.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Minimum
- 1,500
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 5,000
Statutory damages
A consumer who has received more than one unsolicited telephonic sales call from the same solicitor within 12 months may recover actual monetary loss from a knowing violation, or not more than $5,000 in damages for that knowing violation, whichever is greater; the prevailing party in any civil proceeding under the chapter is awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Private civil action under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 159C, § 8(b); the Attorney General may separately bring a civil penalty action under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 159C, § 8(a).
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does a text message to a number on the no sales solicitation calls listing count as a 'telephonic sales call', which section 1 defines as 'a call made by a telephone solicitor', when the same section defines a 'marketing or sales solicitation' as a 'telephone call or message'?
What this law does
Chapter 159C requires the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation to establish and maintain a no sales solicitation calls listing of consumers who do not wish to receive unsolicited telephonic sales calls, updated not less than quarterly. A telephone solicitor may not call a consumer whose number appears on that listing, call between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time at the consumer's location, send an unsolicited telephonic sales call by facsimile, or use a recorded message device.
These duties reach only an 'unsolicited telephonic sales call', a term whose definition excludes a call made at the consumer's own express request, a call primarily about an existing debt or a contract not yet performed, a call to an existing customer of the previous 24 months who has not asked the solicitor to stop, and a call whose sale is not completed until a face-to-face meeting.
The chapter also excludes a tax-exempt nonprofit organization's calls and a noncommercial poll or survey from the definition of a marketing or sales solicitation altogether.
A telephone solicitor must identify itself, the company on whose behalf it is calling, and the purpose of the call within the first minute of a telephonic sales call and before requesting, accepting, or arranging for payment, and must disclose the correct name of the ultimate seller and a complete and accurate description of the goods or services offered, including their retail market value.
A consumer who has received more than one unsolicited telephonic sales call from the same solicitor within a 12-month period may sue to enjoin further violations and to recover actual monetary loss or not more than $5,000 in damages for a knowing violation, whichever is greater.
The Attorney General may separately bring a civil penalty action of not more than $5,000 for each knowing violation, but not less than $1,500 where the violation involves a consumer 65 years of age or older; the chapter states no criminal penalty. It is a defense that the defendant established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to prevent violations of the chapter.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app places automated calls or sends faxes.
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