If you’re getting more robocalls, text messages, here’s why
If your cellphone starts blowing up with strange text messages and phone calls soon, you can thank the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a recent ruling in a lawsuit over text messages sent by Facebook, the justices carved a path for callers to evade long-standing restrictions against unsolicited robocalling and texting.
How did this happen?
The justices unanimously ruled
April 1 that Facebook did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act when it sent text messages to a non-Facebook user.
Robocalls and text messages are illegal unless you have consented in writing to receive them. The recipient of the texts from Facebook, Noah Duguid, of Montana, argued in the lawsuit that he hadn’t consented because he never signed up for a Facebook account.
The justices sided with arguments by Facebook that the technology it used to send those text messages did not meet the law’s definition of an autodialer. The law defines an autodialer as being able to “store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator” and having the capability “to dial such numbers.”
“Duguid’s quarrel is with Congress, which did not define an autodialer as malleably as he would have liked,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the opinion. “This court must interpret what Congress wrote.”
Duguid won his case in a lower court. Facebook appealed to the Supreme Court.
What can be done about it?
Congress should immediately update the Telephone Consumer Protection Act to account for new technology that is being used to place automated calls and texts.
Facebook is a legitimate company that sends legitimate messages to its customers. But other robocallers and texters are not so upstanding. Many are just trolling for business. Many others are looking to scam you.
If Congress doesn’t update the law, expect others to rush through this loophole and start using technology that doesn’t meet the outdated legal definition of an autodialer. That definition was written when the law was enacted in 1991.
The National Consumer Law Center filed an amicus brief in Duguid’s case urging the court to interpret the definition broadly. It said in a statement that the justices interpreted the statute’s definition of autodialer so narrowly that it applies to few or none of the autodialers in use today.
One of the senators who wrote the Telephone Consumer Protection Act three decades ago, Edward Markey of Massachusetts, said he intends to amend it immediately.
Markey, a Democrat, criticized the justices, saying they “tossed aside years of precedent, clear legislative history and essential consumer protection to issue a ruling that is disastrous for everyone who has a mobile phone in the United States.”
In a joint statement, he and Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said they planned to “fix the court’s error and protect consumers.”
“If the justices find their private mobile phones ringing nonstop from now until our legislation becomes law, they’ll only have themselves to blame,” they said.
Protect yourself from robocalls and texts
Ask your phone company if it can help. I’m a customer of T-Mobile, and its ScamShield app identifies and blocks spam calls.
Consider a third-party app such as Nomorobo and RoboKiller.
Add your number to the Do Not Call list. Scammers don’t obey that list, but telemarketers are supposed to do so.
Screen your calls and aggressively block numbers. If you don’t recognize who is calling, don’t answer. If they don’t leave a message, assume the call is not legit and block that number using your cellphone’s blocking option. Some landlines have similar features.
Watch what you sign. You may have consented to receive robocalls and text messages without realizing it when you opened a bank account, set up utility service or made another purchase.
The right to call often is among the terms in the fine print that many people fail to scrutinize.