FCC FAQ
As a founding member of the P2P Alliance, Hustle worked diligently over the course of two years with the FCC, industry leaders, and the community to obtain this favorable ruling in regards to the TCPA and peer-to-peer texting.
What does this mean for Hustle’s clients?
Hustle’s clients can be confident in continuing to use our platform because Hustle meets these stringent requirements for P2P Texting platforms that the FCC ruling specifically laid out:
- Manual dialing—sending messages requires a person (agent) to send each and every single message. Hustle has no capacity anywhere in the platform for autodialing1 unlike many other platforms that advertise themselves as “P2P.”
- Discretion over the content—agents have discretion over content and timing of each message, which meets the FCC’s definition of a P2P Texting platform.
- 1:1 Conversational platform—Hustle enables an elaborate reply capability using authentic tone, customized messages and the ability to personalize each message.
Key Emphasis: 1:1 Nature of the platform—one text, one recipient, one ongoing conversation with your end user who is already part of your ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does this ruling mean for Hustle?
This ruling definitively means that Hustle continues to be TCPA compliant—Hustle is NOT an “autodialer” and not subject to the rules of an ATDS. The Hustle texting platform is recognized as a manual dialing platform that requires human intervention for every single message sent. Furthermore, there is no capacity in the platform to send autodial text. - What does this ruling mean for me as a Hustle client?
First and foremost it means you are using a TCPA compliant platform. Specifically for Hustle clients it means the programs you set up and deploy via our platform are not considered blast text messages. You have to assign ‘Admins’ and ‘Agents’ to deploy even one message, which requires manual dialing. - Are there legal updates we need to consider for our contract language?
No. As stated in the Overview of FCC P2P Text Messaging Ruling on June 25, 2020, P2P platforms that require a person to send each message one at a time to a single recipient are not “autodialers” under the TCPA. This clarification is consistent with a 2016 FCC Enforcement Advisory, in which the FCC stated that “manually placed text messages are permissible without prior express consent.” - Do we need to notify our database as we continue to send messages on the Hustle platform?
No. You do not need to notify your database as you continue to send out messages on the Hustle platform because we are TCPA compliant and are not considered an autodialer or blast text messaging platform. - Do you have an official memo that clarifies what the ruling means for the Hustle platform and clients?
Hustle clients can request this letter from their Client Success Manager. - Does the platform allow text messages to be individually modified if a client was comfortable with that?
Yes. Hustle encourages you to craft the text message scripts to reflect specifics as they pertain to your brand, audience you’re reaching, and “the ask.” We go through this in every Hustle training. As is now required by the FCC to meet its definition of a P2P platform, Hustle is truly a relationship building P2P text messaging platform and should be treated as such.
1 According to the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, P2P Alliance Petition for Clarification, FCC Rcd 20-670, 2, (June 25, 2020) (“FCC P2P Order”), the question of whether a platform or equipment is an “autodialer” (and, thus, subject to the TCPA): turns on whether such equipment is capable of dialing random or sequential telephone numbers without human intervention. If a calling platform is not capable of dialing such numbers without a person actively and affirmatively manually dialing each one, that platform is not an “autodialer” and calls made using it are not subject to the TCPA’s restrictions on calls to wireless phones.