FEWER LIMITS ON TEXT MARKETING?
BY BRENDAN READ, CONTACT CENTER PIPELINE; Q & A WITH MELODY MOREHOUSE, GRYPHON AI
Will organizations be free to ignore customers’ wishes not to be contacted by SMS / text in U. S. telemarketing legislation like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act( TCPA)? This could be the outcome stemming from a ruling by the Central District of Illinois in Jones v. Blackstone Medical Services LLC on July 21, 2025, that the TCPA’ s National Do Not Call( DNC) Registry and internal Do Not Call list regulations do not apply to SMS / text.
The Central District’ s action follows on the heels of the landmark U. S. Supreme Court McKesson decision on the TCPA( see Supreme Telemarketing Changes article page 37). Indeed, that court cited it in its reasoning, namely that district courts were not bound by agencies’ interpretations of laws.
In the case, the plaintiffs alleged that Blackstone was sending them messages, even though they were on the DNC registry and that they had asked Blackstone to stop.
The Central District said that the Jones plaintiffs cited FCC rulings that were made in 2003 and 2016 to support their claim. But it disagreed with their assertion, and said that SMS / text messaging were absent from the specific sections of the TCPA they sought relief from.
Melody Morehouse, Director, Conversation Compliance, Gryphon AI, said the Central District dismissed the Jones case after concluding that text messages did not trigger TCPA claims because the phrases“ SMS message” and“ text message” were absent from those sections of the regulations.
" With no statutory definition for ' telephone call,' the court drew upon the common and ordinary meaning of the term and concluded that, to cite its wording:‘[ I ] n today’ s American parlance, telephone call means something entirely different from text message’,” says Melody.
In following up with Melody, we asked her three questions:
SO, IS THE JONES CASE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT MAY BE THE GROWING COURT PRACTICE OF LITERAL OR“ PLAIN LANGUAGE” READING OF LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS, WHERE IF A SPECIFIC PRACTICE IS NOT MENTIONED IT DOES NOT APPLY, AS OPPOSED TO A READING OF THE INTENT OF THESE LAWS?
NAMELY THAT LAWMAKERS WANTED TO STOP CONSUMERS FROM RECEIVING UNWANTED COMMUNICATIONS FROM MARKETERS. THUS, LEAVING IT THEN TO LAWMAKERS TO MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THESE LAWS?
A: YES, you nailed it. The“ intent”( mainly to protect consumers from unwanted marketing messages) was often shaped by extensive FCC“ interpretation,”( generally based on industry expertise). Now, courts can apply rulings based solely on the literal black and white words on the page instead.
HOW DO YOU BELIEVE MARKETERS, AND CONTACT CENTERS, ARE GOING TO ACT POST-JONES? WILL THEY NOW CONTACT CUSTOMERS BY SMS / TEXT REGARDLESS BUT AT THE RISK OF IRRITATING THEM AND RESULTING IN LOSS OF SALES FROM INCURRING NEGATIVE BRAND PERCEPTIONS? OR WILL THEY BE PRUDENT AND RESPECT THOSE LISTS?
A: I can’ t predict how marketers are going to respond, but if they are ethical and prudent, they will respect the new boundaries that support and enforce consumer expectations.
I always say“ consent is king” for a reason: it truly is the golden key to navigating challenges in the TCPA space. It’ s not always easy, but companies can tackle tough issues, especially when the outcome boosts consumer trust and improves the bottom line.
DO YOU EXPECT CONGRESS OR THE STATES TO STEP IN TO AMEND THEIR TELEMARKETING REGULATIONS TO PUT IN LANGUAGE THAT INCLUDES THOSE CHANNELS IN THE DNC LISTS AND REGISTRIES?
A: In 2024, there was a clear state-level trend to explicitly include“ text messages” within their telemarketing statutes, alongside phone calls. I expect that trend to continue, as states generally won’ t retreat from such consumer protections. In fact, state rules tend to be more rigorous than federal rules anyway, so this state-level momentum is likely to persist.
The Jones v. Blackstone TCPA ruling creates legal uncertainty for the FCC’ s TCPA-specific private actions regarding text messages and the National DNC Registry. But from what I can tell, the Federal Trade Commission( FTC)’ s national rule and enforcement posture remain unchanged: the DNC protections continue to include text / SMS marketing to numbers on the Registry.
It would be risky for businesses to rely on the Jones ruling as a shield for FTC DNC Registry compliance. So, I’ d recommend they proceed under the assumption that marketing texts to numbers on the National DNC Registry constitute a violation, unless a clear exemption applies( such as prior consent or an established business relationship).
Given the growing regulatory and legal uncertainty, split court decisions suggest that only new legislation from Congress can provide consistent national clarity on the coverage of text and other digital marketing channels under the DNC framework.
Until such federal legislation is enacted, the primary progress toward explicitly including digital messaging in telemarketing and DNC laws continues at the state legislative level, alongside FCC administrative actions.
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