This episode of ComplianceTalk covers a Seventh Circuit ruling that just shook things up under the TCPA. In Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, the court found that text messages don’t count as “telephone calls” under the statute, putting it directly at odds with a recent Ninth Circuit decision going the other way. That means there’s now a circuit split, and possibly a Supreme Court fight, on the horizon. The practical takeaway: keep treating texts like phone calls anyway, since plaintiffs’ attorneys aren’t going anywhere.
Michele and Chad also discuss the FCC’s latest move on the Robocall Mitigation Database, including a new requirement that could pull more companies into “voice service provider” territory and require them to get an SPC token, with real tax and Universal Service Fund implications attached. Then there’s the T-Mobile data breach ruling out of Washington State, where the state AG scored a win on summary judgment over hundreds of thousands of alleged notification violations, another reminder that states are picking up where federal privacy law leaves off.
Rounding things out is a look at children’s online privacy and AI legislation moving through the Senate that could impose new disclosure and age-gating obligations on far more businesses than just those marketing to kids. If you use chatbots or automated decision-making tools in any capacity, this one’s worth watching.
Read more about these topics and other key developments in our July edition of the Regulatory Roundup newsletter.
