A wide variety of different kinds of political campaigns have been the recipients of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits. These sorts of lawsuits have involved campaigns at the federal level down to the local level and have targeted members of both parties. The latest TCPA lawsuit against a political campaign involves the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), an organization that fundraises for Republican candidates for senate.
The case centers on the plaintiff’s allegations that he received multiple text messages from the NRSC without his consent and despite the fact that his phone number is on the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry. The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
What makes this case potentially interesting is the fact that, if the NRSC did in fact send the alleged text messages, there is a likelihood that they did so via a peer-to-peer (P2P) texting system. P2P texting is a particularly popular dialing method for political campaigns. Last summer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Declaratory Ruling that certain P2P platforms would not be considered as automatic telephone dialing systems (ATDS). It is uncertain how that Declaratory Ruling will be interpreted in a courtroom setting so this case may present an opportunity to test its enforcement powers.