Businesses using automated technologies to call and text consumers may breathe a collective sigh of relief today as the Supreme Court confirmed in the Facebook v. Duguid decision what defense lawyers have been arguing for years – equipment that is merely capable of storing and dialing telephone numbers is not an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). Rather, the equipment must also use “a random or sequential number generator.” That is the type of equipment that concerned Congress. What is the TCPA? Enacted in 1991, the TCPA imposed restrictions on abusive telemarketing practices. In particular, ATDS technology allowed companies to dial blocks of telephone numbers automatically, which could tie up the lines of emergency services and businesses alike. In response to this emerging technology, the TCPA made it unlawful to make certain calls using an ATDS, and created a private right of action allowing consumers to recover up to $1,500 per unlawful call, creating the potential for truly staggering liability in class actions. Facebook’s login notification text Fast forward 25 years. Like many businesses concerned with consumer data and privacy, Facebook has a security feature that automatically sends users texts when an attempt…
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Facebook v. Duguid – Opting for Narrow ATDS Definition, Supreme Court Issues Game-Changing …
