Facebook can now send you text messages without your consent after U.S. Supreme Court rules that text messages sent by Facebook did not violate anti-robocall law

In a 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Facebook over its argument that text messages the social media company sent did not violate a 1991 federal law called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

The U.S. highest court ruled that Facebook’s actions – sending text messages without consent – did not fit within the technical definition of the type of conduct barred by the law, which was enacted before the rise of modern cellphone technology. The latest ruling is good news for businesses as it will now make it easier for them to annoy consumers with phone calls or text messages.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2015 in California federal court by Montana resident Noah Duguid who said Facebook sent him many automatic text messages without his consent. According to the filing, Noah accused Facebook of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s restriction on using an automatic telephone dialing system.

However, Facebook said the security-related messages, triggered when users try to log in to their accounts from a new device or internet browser, were tied to users’ cellphone numbers.

Pleased with the outcome of the case, Facebook said in a statement:

“As the court recognized, the law’s provisions were never intended to prohibit companies from sending targeted security notifications and the court’s decision will allow companies to continue working to keep the accounts of their users safe,”

Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, Senator Edward Markey and Representative Anna Eshoo said in a joint statement: “By narrowing the scope of the TCPA, the court is allowing companies the ability to assault the public with a non-stop wave of unwanted calls and texts, around the clock.”