Telemarketing Text Messages

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act governs telephone marketing calls made to a consumer’s telephone. 

We previously blogged that debt collection calls to a consumer’s cell phone made with an automated dialer are prohibited unless the consumer previously gave express consent to receive calls on his/her cell phone. Express consent may have come from a credit application or other information the consumer provided to the company. 
This ban on autodialed cell phone calls applies to telemarketing or solicitation calls as well as debt collection calls. However with the advance of technology, there are now other ways to communicate on a cell phone besides making a call—for example, text messages. So, if the TCPA prohibits cell phone solicitation calls without the consumer’s consent, what about solicitation text messages?

Several courts have found that text messages sent with an automated dialer may be considered “calls” under the TCPA and therefore, may be prohibited without the consumer’s prior express consent. The FCC has also indicated that its rules prohibit using an automated dialer to send unwanted text messages to a cell phone.

An attorney can help you determine whether the unwanted telemarketing text messages on your cell phone are prohibited or not. -Meredith Phillips (205)912-8244
Blankenship Harrelson, LLP