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Yet another court has now held SMS are not telephone calls under the TCPA’s DNC rules– and this time its a court right in the center of the nation.
In Rush v. Selectquote Insurance, 2026 WL 2495598 (W.D. Mo July 30, 2026) the court concluded SMS messages are not calls for purposes of the TCPA’s DNC rules based on the plain language of the statute.
Here’s the key portion of the analysis:
Here, the plain text of § 227(c)(5) states the private right of action applies only to “telephone calls.” Congress did not define
the term “telephone calls” within the TCPA. In 1991, “a telephone was ‘an instrument for reproducing sounds at a distance.’
” Steidinger v. Blackstone Med. Servs., 2026 WL 2028517 at *2 (7th Cir. July 14, 2026), quoting Webster’s Ninth New
Collegiate Dictionary (1991). “[T]he 1990 edition of Webster’s Dictionary defined ‘call’ as ‘the act of calling on the telephone,’
and defined ‘telephone’ as ‘an instrument for reproducing sounds at a distance.’ ” Richards v. Shein Distrib. Corp., 2026
WL 847584, at *2 (S.D. Ind. 2026), quoting Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1990). Text messages do not
“reproduce[e] sounds at a distance.” Text messaging is not an “act of calling on the telephone.” The plain and ordinary meaning
of telephone calls in § 227(c)(5) does not include text messages.
Since SMS are not “sounds” reproduced at a distance they are not telephone calls. And the court rejected Plaintiff’s policy and FCC based arguments to the contrary.
The W.D. Missouri is now the 13th federal district (including the entire 7th circuit footprint) to conclude SMS messages are not telephone calls for purposes of the TCPA’s DNC rules. In such districts a caller cannot be sued for unsolicited SMS messages marketing to consumers on the DNC list.
Yet a very real split of authority still remains as 14 other district courts (and possible the the 9th circuit court of appeals) has held otherwise.
Reach out to Troutman Amin, LLP if you’d like a complete listing of the applicable rulings (or just search TCPAWorld for the pertinent articles).
This issue is likely headed for the U.S. Supreme Court– and we will keep an eye on it.
And you should keep an eye on Ep. 47 of the Deserve to Win Podcast– this is the one where Tori Guidry becomes a partner at Troutman Amin, LLP live on the air
Chat soon!
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