Washington ( CNN ) -- The Federal Communications Commission approved new rules Wednesday to further limit automatically dialed or prerecorded calls know as `` robocalls '' and automated text messages . The FCC 's rules go beyond Federal Trade Commission rules that have been in force since 2008 . `` Too many telemarketers , aided by autodialers and prerecorded messages , have continued to call consumers who do n't want to hear from them , '' said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement read at the meeting . These new overlapping rules seek to close loopholes in the existing regulations . Under the new requirements , telemarketers will have to get permission in writing before placing an automated call to a consumer . Previously , companies that had an established business relationship with a particular consumer could call them without permission . For example , another FCC official not authorized to speak publicly explained , a bank could robocall one of its checking account customers to try to sell them insurance . The new rules prohibit that without written permission . Information calls , such as school closing information and flight cancellations , are an exception . They can be made to land-line phones without written permission . Text messages and calls to cell phones are subject to stricter rules . `` Any type of phone call or text to a wireless device needs written consent , '' the FCC official added . Telemarketers also will be required to let consumers easily prevent any future calls . `` Each and every telemarketing robocall will have to include an automated , interactive opt-out mechanism , so that a consumer can revoke consent by pressing just a few keys during the call , '' Genachowski said . The company will have to immediately disconnect the call and add you to their do-not-call list . `` Dead air '' calls also are restricted by the new rules . Some telemarketers place many calls at once guessing how many people will answer the phone ; if more people answer than there are operators , the result on the receiver 's end is often the silence of a delayed response . The new rules `` strictly '' limit the number of such calls telemarketers can make `` within each calling campaign , '' the FCC said . A telemarketing company that has a real person dialing the phone numbers is not subject to the new rules . `` Consumers ' first line of protection against any call is the do-not-call list , '' the FCC official said . Consumers can sue companies who violate these rules , the FCC official explained , adding , `` We also take action based on trends of complaints . ''
NEW : Rules address `` continued '' robocalls , FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski says . NEW : Robocalls include an automated , interactive opt-out feature , he says . Also limited are `` dead air '' calls in which no one is on the line when the call is answered . Rules do not apply to companies that have a real person dialing the number .