Connecticut Amends Telemarketing Law

Connecticut recently amended its telemarketing law, effective October 1, 2023, to, among other things, expand certain definitions and place additional restrictions on telephonic sales calls. 

Among other things, the law continues to prohibit telemarketers from making telephonic sales calls to consumers, unless the consumer has given prior written consent.  The definition of telemarketer will expand from “any person” to include “any affiliate or subsidiary of any person, doing business in this state that makes, or causes to be made, a telephonic sales call” and includes not just use of a telephone, radio, television, or print advertisement, but also use of: autodialing systems, text messages, over-the-top messages, recorded message devices, and soundboard technology.  Among other things, the definition of “telephonic sales calls” will now include, with some exceptions, (i) “encouraging such resident consumer to share any personally identifying information or purchase or invest in any property, goods, services or other thing of value if such resident consumer did not previously express any interest in sharing such personally identifying information or purchasing or investing in such property, goods, services or other thing of value,” and (ii) “soliciting such resident consumer to donate any money, property, goods, services or other thing of value if such resident consumer did not previously express any interest in donating such money, property, goods, services or other thing of value.”

Like New York, written about previously by WBK, with these amendments, Connecticut will now require certain upfront disclosures on telephonic sales calls including:

• Within ten seconds of the call starting, stating:
  • the person’s identity;
  • the name of the entity for which that person is making the call (if any); and
  • the call’s purpose. 
• At the start of the call, asking whether the consumer wishes to continue the call, end the call, or be removed from the caller’s list.

The call must end within ten seconds of when “the consumer states or otherwise indicates” a desire to end the call.  And if the consumer states a wish not to be called in the future or to be removed from the caller’s calling list, the caller must:

• Tell the consumer that their information will be removed from the list;
• End the call within ten seconds of the consumer’s request;
• Not make any further calls to the consumer, including to other associated contact information; and
• Not give or sell any of the consumer’s information to any other entity.

The amendments change the allowed hours for these calls to between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET.