<P> The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1991 and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush as Public Law 102 - 243 . It amended the Communications Act of 1934 . The TCPA is codified as 47 U.S.C. § 227 . The TCPA restricts telephone solicitations (i.e., telemarketing) and the use of automated telephone equipment . The TCPA limits the use of automatic dialing systems, artificial or prerecorded voice messages, SMS text messages, and fax machines . It also specifies several technical requirements for fax machines, autodialers, and voice messaging systems--principally with provisions requiring identification and contact information of the entity using the device to be contained in the message . </P> <P> Unless the recipient has given prior express consent, the TCPA and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules under the TCPA generally: </P>

It's prohibited by the telephone consumer protection act of 1991