The light on my phone's answering machine was flashing when I got home from work one day this week, with a prerecorded message about an emergency notification system.

At least it wasn't one of those calls leaving annoying and/or unsettling messages about consolidating my credit card debt. If it had been, it would likely have been one of the last of them.

Because that call happened to come on the same day that the Federal Communications Commission announced new rules tightening the restrictions on prerecorded telemarketing calls -  aka robocalls.

From now on, a business must have your consent (on paper, or through electronic means like a website form or a telephone keypress) before it can place a telemarketing call to you or send you a telemarketing text message.

The new rules close a large loophole. Previously a business was free to contact anyone it had "an established business relationship" with. The loophole was that that established business relationship could have been triggered by something as minor as entering a giveaway at the mall (win a pool! win a car!); once you did that you were fair game for follow-up calls.

Another change: If you receive a robocall, you'll be able to opt out immediately through an automated menu. No more calling back to request that the calls stop.

Some robocalls are still allowed, however - mostly ones that benefit consumers. These include notifications about school closings or changes to flight information. A business or organization does not need your permission to make such calls to landline numbers; however, oral or written consent is required for cellphone messages or text messages.

If you think a caller has violated FCC rules, you can file a complaint at this link.