Law / United States / 
Washington
Automatic Dialing and Announcing Device Act
In force.
A telephone contact rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
What it requires
- Do not use an automatic dialing and announcing device, a system that automatically dials numbers and plays a recorded or artificial voice message once a connection is made (including one that goes to voicemail), for commercial solicitation to a Washington telephone customer; commercial solicitation means the unsolicited initiation of a call to encourage a purchase of property, goods or services or to wrongfully obtain anything of value, and the section states no consent-based exception.
- Do not substantially assist another person in transmitting a commercial solicitation described above while knowing or consciously avoiding knowledge that the initiator is violating this section, unless you are a telecommunications provider that both complied with federal telemarketing rules and implemented a reasonably effective plan to mitigate such calls.
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.
- FINOS AIGF
- AIR-PREV-005System Acceptance Testing
Our reading of where this law's duties sit in each framework. It never says that running a control meets the law. How we read a framework against the law
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
RCW 80.04.390 makes a gross misdemeanor of a violation by any person of any provision of Title 80 RCW, which contains this section; where no statute prescribes the punishment for a gross misdemeanor, RCW 9.92.020 sets it at up to 364 days in the county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
Penalty structure
The section declares a violation an unfair or deceptive act for the purpose of applying the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, and RCW 19.86.140 sets a civil penalty of not more than $7,500 for each violation of RCW 19.86.020, recoverable by the attorney general; an enhanced penalty of $5,000 applies to unlawful acts that target or impact specific individuals or communities based on demographic characteristics. This is separate from the injured person's own recovery.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Currency
- USD
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 7,500
Statutory damages
A person injured under this section may sue for actual damages or $1,000 per violation, whichever is greater, in addition to an injunction against further violations.
- As of
- Currency
- USD
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Private civil action under subsection (4); a violation is an unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does a call to a person who asked to be contacted, or who has a prior business relationship with the caller, remain an 'unsolicited initiation of a telephone communication' under RCW 80.36.400(1)(c), when the section states no consent exception?
- What conduct is 'substantial assistance or support' that 'enables any person to formulate, originate, initiate, or transmit a commercial solicitation' under RCW 80.36.400(1)(a)(i), and what shows that a provider 'consciously avoids knowing' of the initiator's violation?
What this law does
RCW 80.36.400 bans the use of an automatic dialing and announcing device, a system that automatically dials telephone numbers and transmits a recorded or artificial voice message once a connection is made, including a message that goes directly to a recipient's voicemail, for commercial solicitation, defined as the unsolicited initiation of a telephone communication to encourage a purchase or to wrongfully obtain anything of value.
It extends to a person who substantially assists in transmitting a commercial solicitation while knowing or consciously avoiding knowledge that the initiator is violating the Consumer Protection Act, subject to an affirmative defense for a telecommunications provider that complied with federal telemarketing rules and implemented a reasonably effective plan to mitigate such calls.
A violation is a per se unfair or deceptive act under the Consumer Protection Act, chapter 19.86 RCW, and a person injured may sue in superior court to enjoin further violations and recover actual damages or $1,000 per violation, whichever is greater. The provisions this entry describes came into force on different days.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app places automated calls.
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