New Legislation Would Expand The Telephone Consumer Protection Act [telecom]

by Leah C. Dempsey , Zachary S. Pfister and Michael Pryor

Several Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, recently introduced the Robotext Scam Prevention Act (HR 8334) that would expand the reach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"). Most importantly, it would expand the definition of automatic dialing equipment that triggers TCPA liability for unconsented calls to cell phones, effectively overturning the Supreme Court's decision in Facebook v. Duguid. The bill would also expressly include texts within the ambit of the TCPA.