ATDS (Autodialer)
Duguid narrowed the federal autodialer definition to random/sequential generation, but consent rules and state statutes keep list-based texting fully regulated.
The TCPA's harshest restrictions historically attached to calls and texts made with an ATDS. For years, plaintiffs argued any system dialing from a stored list qualified — which would cover every texting platform.
Facebook v. Duguid (2021) rejected that reading: equipment is an ATDS only if it uses a random or sequential number generator to store or produce the numbers it dials. Ordinary list-based campaign platforms generally fall outside the definition.
That narrowed one theory, not the exposure. Marketing texts still require prior express written consent under the FCC's rules, DNC and revocation rules apply regardless of dialer type, and state mini-TCPA statutes (Florida, Oklahoma, Washington) wrote broader autodialer definitions precisely to sidestep Duguid.
Frequently asked questions
Related glossary terms
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a US federal law (47 U.S.C. § 227) that restricts marketing calls and texts to mobile phones, with statutory damages of $500–$1,500 per violation.
Mini-TCPA laws are state statutes regulating calls and texts alongside the federal TCPA — Florida's FTSA, Oklahoma's TSA, and others — often with broader autodialer definitions, stricter hours, and separate statutory damages.
The FTSA is Florida's telemarketing statute covering automated marketing calls and texts to Florida numbers, with statutory damages of $500-$1,500 per violation and a broader equipment definition than the federal TCPA.