Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid
Headline: Court limits when unwanted texts count as autodialer calls, ruling devices must use random or sequential number generators, easing liability for modern notification systems and many businesses.
Holding: To qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA, a device must be able to store or produce phone numbers using a random or sequential number generator; Facebook’s login texts did not meet that requirement.
- Narrowly limits when texts count as autodialer calls, reducing liability for many notification systems.
- Makes ordinary cell phones and targeted messages less likely to be treated as autodialers.
- Leaves other robocall limits, like bans on prerecorded-voice calls, unchanged.
Summary
Background
Facebook, a social media company, offers an optional security feature that sends login-notification text messages when an account is accessed from a new device or browser. Noah Duguid received several such messages even though he never created a Facebook account and never gave Facebook his number. He sued under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, saying Facebook’s system stored phone numbers and automatically sent texts. A federal district court dismissed his claim, the Ninth Circuit reversed, and the Supreme Court agreed to decide the legal question.
Reasoning
The central question was whether the TCPA requires an autodialer to use a random or sequential number generator when it either stores or produces numbers. The Court read the statute’s wording and punctuation to mean the modifying phrase “using a random or sequential number generator” applies to both “store” and “produce.” Because Facebook’s login-notification system did not use such a number generator, it does not qualify as an autodialer under the TCPA. The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and sent the case back for further proceedings consistent with that interpretation.
Real world impact
The ruling narrows the TCPA’s autodialer definition. Many modern notification systems and ordinary cell phones that store and dial numbers without using random or sequential number generators are less likely to be treated as autodialers. The opinion leaves other robocall limits, like bans on prerecorded-voice calls, untouched and remands the case for the lower courts to apply the Court’s rule.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Alito concurred in the judgment but wrote separately to caution about overreliance on linguistic canons and emphasized their limits.
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