A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of a class action complaint in which the plaintiff alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending unsolicited “Birthday Announcement” text messages to consumers’ cell phones.  Among other restrictions, the TCPA prohibits calls to cell phone numbers using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) without prior express consent. … Continue Reading

Today, in a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the reach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by narrowing what technology qualifies as an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (“ATDS”).  Among other restrictions, the TCPA prohibits calls to phone numbers using an ATDS without prior express consent.  The TCPA defines an ATDS as “equipment which has the capacity (A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to dial such numbers.”… Continue Reading

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held last week, in Medley v. DISH Network, LLC, that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not allow a consumer to unilaterally revoke consent to receive automated calls when such consent is given as part of a bargained-for exchange.  In its decision, the Eleventh Circuit expressed its agreement with the Second Circuit’s 2017 decision in Reyes v.Continue Reading

In September 2018, in Marks v. San Diego Crunch, a unanimous Ninth Circuit three-judge panel held that the TCPA’s definition of an automatic dialing system (ATDS) includes telephone equipment that can automatically dial phone numbers stored in a list, rather than just phone numbers that the equipment randomly or sequentially generates. … Continue Reading

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a notice asking for comment on what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the TCPA following the Ninth Circuit’s September 20, 2018 decision in Marks v. Crunch San DiegoIn May 2018, the FCC issued a notice announcing that it was seeking comments on several TCPA issues following the D.C.… Continue Reading

The FCC has issued a notice announcing that it is seeking comments on several TCPA issues following the D. C. Circuit’s decision in ACA International v. FCC.  Comments are due by June 13, 2018 and reply comments are due by June 28, 2018.

The FCC’s notice follows the filing of a petition by several industry trade groups seeking clarification of the TCPA’s definition of “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) in light of the D.C.… Continue Reading