Call centers continued to flourish and became so prevalent that backlash from consumers prompted Congress to pass the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This new legislation put limits on the number of calls that could be made by agents. The TCPA also mandated that call centers honor the National Do Not Call Registry. Restrictions were also set on the use of technology like auto dialers and the use of pre-recorded messages for sales calls.

This shift reduced the volume of calls that could be made and forced call centers to focus more on quality management than ever before.