NY AG, FCC Voice Concerns Over PayPal, eBay Revised User Agreements

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office wrote eBay and PayPal Tuesday about the companies' amended user agreements and their potential to allow "robo-messaging." The letters point to particular sections of the updated agreements that Schneiderman's office said allow PayPal and eBay to contact "customers using 'autodialed or prerecorded calls and text messages' for a wide range of purposes, including to 'collect a debt, poll opinions through surveys or questionnaires' and 'contact [users] with offers and promotions.'" The FCC sent its own letter to PayPal Thursday, saying it's "concerned that these amendments [to the user agreements] may violate federal laws governing the use of autodialed, prerecorded, and artificial voice calls, including text messages." The FCC also repeated its rules for collecting written consent from customers before beginning robocalls, and warned that the current language of the user agreement might violate regulations. The commission said it prohibits a company from "requiring a consumer to consent to receive autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing or advertising calls as a condition of purchasing any property, good, or service, and the company must give consumers notice of their right to refuse to give such consent." Schneiderman's office requested answers to questions in its letters to both companies be submitted by June 19. "We have received a letter from the FCC and the New York State Attorney General's office, and look forward to responding," a PayPal spokesperson said Thursday. "We strive to be as clear as possible with our customers and clarified our policies and practices las[t] week on the PayPal blog. Our customers can choose not to receive autodialed or prerecorded message calls."