So R.E.A.C.H. finished its advocacy work before the FCC in connection with the recent “lead generator loophole” NPRM last week.

Members of R.E.A.C.H. met with FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s office to discuss the massive risks of shutting down the entire lead generation industry–tens of thousands of jobs lost and a potential upheaval in many sectors of the economy, such as among independent insurance brokers who rely on leads to survive.

The meeting was R.E.A.C.H.’s sixth of the year as it connected with the offices all five FCC Commissioners as well as with numerous representatives of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.

R.E.A.C.H. and its members are deeply grateful to the Commission and its staff for devoting so much time and so many resources into this proceeding and for taking the time to meet with it and other industry participants to gather information needed to make an informed and appropriate decision on the NPRM.

In the end there is no debate that the lead generation industry needs clear standards and regulation, but shutting down the industry–especially with a retroactive ruling that would create trillions in exposure and shut down an industry–is definitely not the answer.

You can read R.E.A.C.H.’s ex parte filing here. 

Coinciding with R.E.A.C.H.’s meeting last week, three independent real estate broker agents associated with eXp Realty also met with the Commission to advise of the impact lead generation has on that industry. The Bureau was told that these agents may need to lay off half of their staff–or more–if third-party leads were suddenly made illegal.

You can read the eXp ex parte filing here.

This is a very big deal, of course, that really has the potential to crush small business in this country.