Calls & text messages
What Is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the principal federal law limiting robocalls, robotexts, telemarketing calls, and junk faxes.
Topic 02
Calls and Texts
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) uses the word "calls," but most consumer complaints today involve text messages. Whether a text counts as a call now depends on which part of the law applies.
Where things stand
- Robocall rules (§ 227(b)). Federal appeals courts treat texts as calls. Autodialed marketing texts are therefore subject to the same prior express written consent requirements as autodialed marketing calls.
- Do-not-call lawsuits (§ 227(c)(5)). In July 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that texts are not "telephone calls" for private do-not-call suits. No other circuit had ruled on that question as of October 14, 2026.
- Agency rules. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e) continues to apply do-not-call protections to marketing texts. The FCC can enforce it regardless of private-suit rulings.
- States. The statutes of Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, Texas, Virginia, Oregon, and Pennsylvania expressly cover texts.
Other text issues come up often. A text with an embedded video was not a call made "using" a prerecorded voice, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in January 2026. Federal quiet hours (8 a.m. to 9 p.m., local time) apply to marketing texts, and a petition asking the FCC to limit quiet-hours lawsuits remained pending as of October 14, 2026.
What this means for you
Treat texts like calls for consent, do-not-call scrubbing, and quiet hours. The articles in this section follow developments in the courts and at the FCC on texting.
The maintained guide
Calls, Texts, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted in 1991, before text messaging existed.
Guides 3
Consent & revocation
Compliance Guide: Calls and Texts
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) compliance is not one rule.
Do Not Call
Unwanted Calls and Texts: What You Can Do
You have real rights against unwanted robocalls, robotexts, and telemarketing.
Analysis and news 16
Case analysis · Litigation & decisions
Third Circuit: Free Opioid Seminar Fax Was Not an Unsolicited Advertisement
A fax inviting doctors to a free educational seminar on opioid misuse was not an "unsolicited advertisement" under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held.
Case analysis · Consent & revocation
Physicians Healthsource v. A-S Medication Solutions: Fax Consent Must Be Explicit and Does Not Transfer With a Customer List
A company that bought part of a business, including its customer fax list, and then faxed an advertisement to more than 11,000 numbers without permission or an opt-out notice was liable for nearly $6 million.
Case analysis · Calls & text messages
Moskowitz v. American Savings Bank: Texting a Short Code Consents to the Reply, and Rule 41(d) Costs Exclude Attorney's Fees
In Moskowitz v. American Savings Bank, F.S.B., 37 F.4th 538 (9th Cir. 2022), the Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a bank sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) over automated replies to text messages, and then reversed an award of attorney's fees that the district court had treated as "costs" under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(d).
Case analysis · Litigation & decisions
Helping Hand Caregivers v. Darden Restaurants: Seventh Circuit Rejects Strict Liability for a Brand Featured in an Unauthorized Fax
A company whose logo appears in an unsolicited fax is not liable under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) unless the fax was sent on its behalf under ordinary agency principles.
Regulatory update · FCC & rulemaking
FCC Imposes $9,997,750 Fine on California Telemarketer Who Spoofed a Competitor's Number
On November 18, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed a $9,997,750 fine on Kenneth Moser and his San Diego-based company, Marketing Support Systems.
Case analysis · Calls & text messages
Warciak v. Subway: A Brand Is Not Liable for a Carrier's Promotional Text Without Agency
A T-Mobile customer who received a "T-Mobile Tuesdays" text offering a free Subway sandwich could not hold Subway liable under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Analysis · Litigation & decisions
The Phone Guy Behind the Peruvian Extortion Call Centers: Spoofing, Fake Court Recordings and an Extradition
Every scam call center needs phones. Lines, caller ID, call recording.
Case analysis · Litigation & decisions
Seventh Circuit Holds Text Messages Are Not "Telephone Calls" Under TCPA Section 227(c)(5)
The bottom line: on July 14, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, No. 25-2398, that the private right of action in 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) does not cover text messages.
Analysis · Litigation & decisions
Record Month: 255 TCPA Class Actions Filed in April 2026
Plaintiffs filed 330 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases in April 2026, including a record 255 class actions, according to WebRecon data reported by TCPAWorld.
Case analysis · Consent & revocation
Gorss Motels v. Lands' End: Franchise Agreements Can Supply Prior Express Permission for Supplier Fax Ads
A motel franchisee that agreed that its franchisor and affiliates might provide purchasing assistance and supplied its fax number repeatedly gave prior express permission to receive fax advertisements from an approved supplier.
Analysis · Litigation & decisions
Fake Sweepstakes, Fake Government Officials, Real Prison: The Costa Rica Call Center Case Ends With 15 Years for Its Leader
Some cases take years. This one took almost seven, from indictment to the leader's sentence.
Regulatory update · Autodialers & artificial voice
FCC Imposes $120 Million Penalty on Adrian Abramovich for 96 Million Spoofed Robocalls
On May 10, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Forfeiture Order imposing a $120,000,000 penalty on Adrian Abramovich, personally and doing business as Marketing Strategy Leaders, Inc. and Marketing Leaders, Inc. The FCC found that he made 96,758,223 illegal spoofed robocalls during a three-month period in 2016.
Analysis · Consent & revocation
Albertsons Sued Over Safeway Texts That Allegedly Continued After Confirmed STOP Requests
Four consumers have filed a proposed class action against Albertsons Companies, Inc. alleging that it continued sending marketing texts after they opted out, including after it sent confirmations that they would not receive any more messages.
Case analysis · Litigation & decisions
A Check in the Mail Doesn't End a Junk Fax Case: Bais Yaakov v. ACT
ACT, the nonprofit behind the college admissions test, sent three one-page faxes to a small private high school in 2012.
Analysis · Calls & text messages
58 Texts, Two Letters and a Flagger on the Job: Fender Sued Over Marketing Texts
I love guitars. I really do. But I don't love getting 58 texts about them from a company I've never bought anything from.
Analysis · Consent & revocation
$50 a Text: USA Clinics Group Settles Claims Over Messages Sent After Opt-Outs
Quick quiz. You get a text from "USA Vein Clinics." Who sent it?
Case law 3
Eleventh Circuit (en banc) · 2023
Drazen v. Pinto (11th Cir. 2023) (en banc)
The full Eleventh Circuit ruled that a person who receives an unwanted, illegal telemarketing text message has suffered a concrete injury and so has standing to sue under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Supreme Court · 2020
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)
The Supreme Court invalidated a 2015 exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that allowed robocalls to cell phones made to collect debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government.
Supreme Court · 2016
Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez (2016)
A defendant cannot moot a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) suit, including a proposed class action, just by offering a named plaintiff full relief.