A federal district court in Chicago recently held that SMS messages that are sent to a consumer without the consumer’s consent could violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”). The decision echoes many of the conclusions in a previous Ninth Circuit opinion and underscores the importance of getting express consent from consumers before sending SMS messages.

The TCPA applies to certain types of “calls.” Although the term “call” is not defined, the FCC has opined that the statue covers both voice calls and “text calls” using SMS. The court found this interpretation to be reasonable and, therefore, held that the text message campaign was subject to the TCPA. The court also rejected the notion that the TCPA only prohibits calls that result in a charge to the recipient.

The TCPA generally prohibits the use of an automatic telephone dialing system (“ATDS”) to place calls to a mobile number without the “prior express consent” of the recipient. An ATDS is equipment that has “the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator and to dial such numbers.” The court held that the plaintiff was not required to prove that the sender actually used the equipment’s automatic capacity, only that the equipment had that capacity.

Mobile marketers would be well-advised to get express consent before sending text messages to consumers. Unless they get consent, marketers are likely to face complaints, lawsuits, and significant settlement costs. To avoid becoming a target of these types of lawsuits, marketers should consult with their legal counsel and review the Mobile Marketing Association Consumer Best Practices Guidelines for tips on getting consent.

Court Holds that Text Messages Could Violate the TCPA