The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227, prohibits a business from advertising through unsolicited text messages. While the no-call list and other protections regarding telemarketers are more generally understood, technology and cost have made lesser understood mass-text-based options more accessible to businesses. With this rise in use, plaintiffs’ attorneys have started to crack down on abuses, which can be costly to a company.
For example, a Class Action suit is pending in Southern Florida over the unsolicited use of mass-text advertising by a realty company. Other similar suits are likely to follow. The National Association of Realtors has a helpful guide to the TCPA and texting in this video.
Before your Virginia business launches any new advertising campaign, regardless of whether it implicates the TCPA, consider a brief consultation with your business attorney.
