Digital outreach strategies have grown more sophisticated, but so have the rules that govern them. In 2025, staying compliant across phone, SMS, and email isn’t just a recommendation. It’s a daily requirement. Federal and state regulations continue to shift, while technical enforcement from carriers is adding new layers of complexity.
If you’re not actively managing compliance at every stage of outreach, you’re not just risking deliverability. You’re exposing your business to fines, legal action, and reputational damage.
Here’s what you need to know about multichannel compliance today and what steps to take next
Key Takeaways
- Compliance is no longer optional or static. Federal and state laws continue to evolve, and technical enforcement by carriers is now a major factor in message delivery.
- Seller-specific consent is now mandatory. Broad consent for third-party lead outreach is no longer valid. Businesses must prove that a contact explicitly agreed to be contacted by them.
- Recordkeeping requirements have expanded. Businesses are expected to store detailed consent and outreach data—including what was shown to users and what they agreed to—for up to five years.
- Outreach rules vary by state. Time-of-day restrictions, holidays, emergency declarations, and even area codes can affect whether a contact attempt is legal.
- Carrier-level controls like 10DLC are actively enforced. Sending unregistered SMS messages can result in blocks or per-message fines, regardless of intent.
- Compliance affects performance, not just risk. Poor consent practices lead to blocked calls, lower email deliverability, and lost revenue opportunities.
- Centralized systems and real-time compliance checks are now essential. Businesses need tools that track consent and flag issues before outreach happens.
Compliance Rules Are Expanding Quickly
The landscape for outreach regulation has changed rapidly. While federal laws like the TCPA and CAN-SPAM still apply, updates from the FCC and FTC are now shaping how businesses collect and use consent. At the same time, individual states are introducing their own rules, often with more restrictive measures than federal guidance.
This creates a patchwork of regulations. What works in one state might violate the law in another. Businesses need to understand and follow both state and federal rules at all times. Key challenges in 2025 include:
- Conflicting definitions of autodialers across state and federal levels
- Local restrictions on outreach hours, holidays, and declared emergencies
- More detailed requirements for opt-in and opt-out processes
- Expanded jurisdiction based on IP address, device location, or user presence
Compliance Now Affects Deliverability Too
Compliance is no longer just about avoiding lawsuits. It directly affects your ability to reach people. If you send unregistered text messages or call outside legal windows, your messages may be blocked or flagged before they ever reach a recipient.
Carriers have introduced stricter technical requirements. For example, 10DLC registration is now required for most SMS outreach. Unregistered traffic may be stopped or penalized at the carrier level. On top of that, litigation risk has increased. Small and mid-sized businesses are now more likely to face lawsuits if they fail to follow the rules.
Without clear documentation and valid consent, outreach efforts can be stopped or challenged. This makes compliance a core part of every campaign, not just a legal formality.
What’s New in 2025
1. New Consent Requirements for Third-Party Leads
A key update from the FCC has made seller-specific consent mandatory. This means broad or general permission is no longer acceptable when using third-party leads. If a lead fills out a form on a comparison site, they must now check a box or give clear consent to each individual company that will contact them.
If your business buys leads, you must be able to show that every person on your list has directly agreed to hear from you. Leads that do not meet this standard will not be usable.
2. More Detailed Recordkeeping Rules
The FTC has updated its Telemarketing Sales Rule, increasing the type and length of records you must keep. Many records must now be stored for five years instead of two. In addition to capturing names and numbers, you now need to log:
- The exact content shown at the point of consent
- Confirmation of what the user agreed to
- Time and method of consent
- When and how the contact information was accessed or used
3. Greater Focus on Consumer Experience
New regulations reflect a broader shift toward protecting consumers. Forms must clearly state how information will be used. Consent must be tied to the specific product or service the user inquired about. Broad language that covers multiple categories is no longer acceptable. Outreach that falls outside the original intent of the consent is now seen as non-compliant.
What Businesses Should Do Now
Centralize Data and Consent
If your team works in multiple systems or tools, it’s easy to lose track of who consented, who opted out, and when they were last contacted. A central system that tracks all opt-ins, opt-outs, and outreach attempts is essential. Without this, it’s difficult to prove compliance or avoid over-messaging.
Confirm the Quality of Third-Party Leads
Before using leads from aggregators or third-party sources, request proof of seller-specific consent. You should be able to view the original form, see exactly how consent was gathered, and confirm that it meets current legal standards. Leads without this level of documentation carry a higher legal risk.
Use Real-Time Compliance Checks
Automated systems can now check for things like time-of-day restrictions, state-level rules, area code mismatches, and emergency declarations. Adding these checks into your outreach process helps you avoid compliance mistakes and reduce risk.
Conclusion
Regulators are putting more pressure on businesses to protect consumers. Laws are being updated faster than ever. Carriers are tightening control of how outreach traffic is handled. And consumers are more aware of their rights than in the past.
This shift creates a challenge. But it also creates opportunity. When you make compliance a part of your customer experience strategy, you increase trust, improve deliverability, and reduce your exposure to fines.
It’s not just about following the rules. It’s about reaching people in ways that are clear, respectful, and effective.
This blog post is based on insights shared during the “Understanding Multichannel Compliance” webinar hosted by VanillaSoft, featuring compliance expert Melody Morehouse of Griffin AI and VP of Customer Experience Daniel Sims of VanillaSoft. To explore the full discussion and get more practical guidance, watch the webinar on demand.
