Seventh Circuit Rules Texts Not 'Telephone Calls' Under TCPA §227(c)(5)
Companies sending consumer text messages across multiple U.S. circuits face conflicting TCPA compliance obligations after the Seventh Circuit held texts are not 'telephone calls' under §227(c)(5), creating a split with the Ninth Circuit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a ruling holding that text messages do not qualify as 'telephone calls' under Section 227(c)(5) of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the provision that authorizes private lawsuits for violations of FCC telemarketing rules. This decision directly conflicts with a prior Ninth Circuit ruling that classified text messages as telephone calls under the TCPA, creating a formal circuit split. For organizations that send text-based communications to consumers, this split means compliance requirements vary by jurisdiction: entities operating in the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin) may face different liability exposure for text message campaigns than those operating in the Ninth Circuit (California, Oregon, Washington) or other circuits that have not yet issued rulings on the issue. In-house counsel should audit current cross-jurisdictional text messaging practices, verify consent and opt-out protocols align with the applicable circuit's interpretation, and monitor for potential Supreme Court review to resolve the conflicting precedent.