Text Message Spam Is Against the Law

Text message spam is against the law in the United States. Despite this, some companies have participated in allegedly-illegal text messaging operations.

Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act, or TCPA, in 1991 due to concerns related to new telephone technology. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, telephone technology was advancing rapidly, making it easy for companies to contact consumers. Autodialers, also called robodialers, allowed companies to cheaply contact thousands of potential customers. To limit the intrusions associated with these technologies, Congress passed the TCPA, which established boundaries for telemarketers.

The TCPA limits the technology and practices that telemarketers may use to contact consumers. For example, the TCPA forbids robodialers under most circumstances. It also established the federal “Do Not Call” list, a list of consumers who are off-limits for most telemarketers. Telemarketing companies challenged the law on First Amendment grounds, leading to a series of court defeats that ultimately upheld the constitutionality of the TCPA. Along similar lines, several more recent cases ruled that the TCPA applies to text message spam.

Text message spam causes consumers several types of harm. Most obviously, these messages can be annoying. Additionally, text message spam can be used to “phish,” or look for personal information for use in identity theft. Text message spam can also slow a phone’s performance by taking up memory. As a more tangible problem, unwanted text messages may count on your phone bill.

Lawsuits have been filed by consumers who have received text message spam. The TCPA is designed to be enforced, partially, through TCPA lawsuits. When a company violates the TCPA, they can be held accountable for monetary rewards for each individual interruption. This measure is intended to both compensate consumers who have to put up with text message spam and serve as a deterrent against abuses by making text message spam cost offenders money.

Many TCPA lawsuits take the form of class action lawsuits. Class action lawsuits are a type of group lawsuit in which a number of plaintiffs allege they have suffered similar harm at the hands of the same defendants. Class action lawsuits are designed to streamline the legal process and save time, money, and other resources for everyone involved. Specifically, the plaintiffs can pool their resources for the cost of the lawsuit, the defendant only has to face a single lawsuit, and the court system only has to spend its resources on a single case.

Join a Free TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were contacted on your cell phone by a company via an unsolicited text message (text spam) or prerecorded voice message (robocall), you may be eligible for compensation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Learn more and see if you qualify for a legal claim at the Text Message Spam, Unwanted Cell Phone Calls TCPA Class Action Lawsuit Settlement Investigation.