United States: Consumer Law

A Colorado district court has joined the growing majority of jurisdictions holding that SMS text messages do not constitute "telephone calls" under the TCPA's Do Not Call provisions, following the 7th Circuit's reasoning in Steidinger. The decision marks the 17th district court to adopt this interpretation, significantly expanding the geographic reach of this legal position across the central United States.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has released new testing results showing that manufacturers have successfully transitioned away from PFAS-containing products in key consumer categories. The data reveals a dramatic improvement in compliance rates since Minnesota's PFAS prohibitions took effect, with over 92 percent of tested products now meeting state requirements for dental floss, menstrual products, and food packaging.

A federal court in New Mexico has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the state's PFAS labeling law, finding that while the disclosure requirement is factual and noncontroversial, it fails to reasonably relate to the state's claimed interests in protecting consumer health and the environment. The ruling examines the constitutional limits on government-compelled commercial speech and provides significant relief to consumer...

Two federal courts have recently blocked state product-labeling laws in Texas and California, signaling increased judicial scrutiny of government-mandated disclosures under the First Amendment. These rulings challenge both compelled health warnings on food products and restrictions on recyclability claims, creating significant implications for consumer-packaged goods companies navigating conflicting state regulations.

Federal appellate courts are divided on who qualifies as a "consumer" under the Video Privacy Protection Act, with the Supreme Court now set to resolve whether a subscription must involve audiovisual goods or services or if a newsletter subscription suffices. The distinction could significantly reshape litigation exposure for businesses using tracking pixels and offering video content, as the financial stakes in class actions can escalate quickly under the VPPA's damages framework.

Regulators and legislators have been keenly focused on personalized pricing for several years, and the degree of interest has increased significantly in recent weeks. For example, Seattle passed a law banning the use of personalized pricing in certain grocery sales, a key New York City official publicly advocated for adoption of a multi-industry proposal, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman previewed that more agency action is on the way.

A federal court in Alabama has ruled that SMS messages do not qualify as "telephone calls" under the TCPA's Do Not Call provisions, marking the first time this interpretation has been adopted in Alabama. The decision navigates complex precedent and statutory language to conclude that Congress did not intend text messages to be covered by the private right of action in Section 227(c)(5).

A federal district court in North Carolina has ruled that SMS text messages are not subject to the TCPA's Do Not Call protections, marking a significant shift in telecommunications law.

Recent Supreme Court decisions have sparked a wave of judicial interpretations questioning whether text messages fall within the TCPA's private right of action for National Do Not Call Registry claims. The Seventh Circuit's landmark Steidinger decision distinguished between "telephone calls" and "messages," potentially reshaping the landscape for companies engaged in text-based communications.