intermediary to send administrative text messages related to the service. [See In re Cargo Airline Assoc. , CG No. 02-278, FCC 14-32 (Mar. 27, 2014) and In re GroupMe, Inc. , CG No. 02-278, FCC 14-33 (Mar. 27, 2014)]. In these rulings the FCC further confirmed that: 1) a caller is obligated to obtain express consent, and that the caller may be liable for TCPA violations even when relying on an intermediary’s assertions; 2) by agreeing to participate in a social media service such as GroupMe, and providing a wireless phone number to do so, a consumer consents to receive administrative texts only for that specific group service; 3) an intermediary may only convey a consumer’s consent. The intermediary cannot consent on a consumer’s behalf. TCPA Penalties Steep. With violations from $500 to $1,500 per text message, and private lawyers able to bring actions, these lawsuits are likely to grow. Dish Network was ordered to pay $341 million in two separate federal court actions related to TCPA violations committed by its marketing service providers. Therefore, a business should be careful how they use text messaging as a marketing tool. TCPA Best Practice. Companies should create and maintain a tracking database for customers’ consent to receive texts and follow up immediately when receiving a request to “unsubscribe” or “opt out” of future text messages or phone calls. TCPA Allows Private Right of Action. Because of this private right of action under the TCPA and the prohibition against autodialed text messages in the TCPA, there have already been some significant legal actions taken against both large—and smaller— companies who have failed to comply with the TCPA regulations on mobile communications and text messaging. Notably, in 2011, a class action lawsuit was brought against Domino’s Pizza for a text message campaign that the plaintiffs claimed was directed to consumers who had not previously consented to the communication. A similar case was brought against Papa John’s in 2012. Domino’s settled its TCPA class action suit in 2013 for just under $10 million. In 2013, Huffington Post was sued for sending out “news alerts”
45
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker