So if you have not heard, FaceBook is about 60% likely to make robocalls legal with no penalties.[1] If Judge Amy Coney Barrett gets railroaded through congress into the Supreme Court, those chances shoot up to about 80% (totally scientific measurements).
FaceBook’s appeal of Noah Duguid Vs FaceBook started in July and will be heard again on December 8th, 2020.[2] Judge Barrett heard a similar case to this and upheld a ruling that basically kills TCPA.[3] Judge Barrett is not alone in this and indeed the written text of the law as literally read supports her decision. I would say this is a legal failure, however when you realize TCPA was written 30 years ago, when technology was so primitive, it is a bit harder to think poorly of its writers (only a little bit harder though). I wonder how much lobbying money is being used to influence this decision from the shadows.
I am not a conspiracy theorist but
puts tinfoil hat on
FACEBOOK IS PAYING DONALD TRUMP TO PUSH JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT THROUGH THE SUPREME COURT SO FACEBOOK CAN SPAM EVERYONE TO JOIN FACEBOOK AND RETAIN ITS DOMINANCE AS THE NUMBER 1 DATA SCIENCE AND ADVERTISEMENT COMPANY.
takes tinfoil hat off
All joking aside, this is a serious topic that I just learned of and was a little horrified by. I never realized that there would actually be a chance to effectively repeal TCPA. Based on the written word of TCPA, FaceBook is technically right & everyone agrees.[4] If the decision is made in favor of FaceBook, autodialers will legally be allowed to call you all the time if they can find your phone number without guessing it. Here’s the kicker, you also wouldn’t be able to get the $1,500 or $10,000 penalty since these calls would no longer be covered by TCPA/TRACED.
We will have to see what the S.C. thinks about this. In normal times, I would think the S.C. would reject FaceBook, but in 2020, all bets seem to be off. Could this be the last F U we get from 2020? Tune in next time to find out…
References
1. Facebook v. Duguid, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_v._Duguid, (accessed 24 October 2020).
2. Facebook and the United States Submit Briefs in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, https://www.natlawreview.com/article/facebook-and-united-states-submit-briefs-facebook-inc-v-duguid, (accessed 24 October 2020).
3. Cardin Joins 20 Members of Congress Urging Supreme Court to Protect Consumers from Robocalls | U.S. Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, https://www.cardin.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/cardin-joins-20-members-of-congress-urging-supreme-court-to-protect-consumers-from-robocalls, (accessed 24 October 2020).
4. U.S. Supreme Court Urged to Block Robocall Loopholes, https://bigislandgazette.com/u-s-supreme-court-urged-to-block-robocall-loopholes/, (accessed 24 October 2020).