Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid
Overview
Overview
Facebook, Inc. V. Duguid (2021) held 9-0 that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act's definition of an 'automatic telephone dialing system' (autodialer) covers only equipment that uses a random or sequential number generator to store or produce phone numbers to be called. Not all equipment that automatically dials from a stored list. The ruling sharply narrowed TCPA liability for companies that text or call from their own customer databases.
The Facts
Facts
Noah Duguid received automated security-alert texts from Facebook about login activity on an account he didn't have. He sued under the TCPA, which imposes strict liability for using an autodialer to contact people without consent. Facebook argued its system, which texts from a database of user phone numbers, is not an autodialer under the statute because it does not use a random or sequential number generator. The Ninth Circuit's broad autodialer definition covered Facebook's system; circuits had split on the issue.
The Issue
Issue
Whether the TCPA's definition of an 'automatic telephone dialing system' covers any equipment that can automatically dial stored numbers, or only equipment that uses a random or sequential number generator to generate the numbers dialed.
The Rules
Rule
TCPA § 227(a)(1) defines an autodialer as equipment with 'the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator.' The debate is whether the phrase 'using a random or sequential number generator' modifies only 'produce' or also 'store.' The narrower reading, adopted by the Court, limits TCPA's reach; the broader reading would cover virtually any modern dialing system.
The Application
Analysis
Facebook's system automatically transmitted security-alert texts to phone numbers stored in its user database, which would prima facie appear to satisfy the broad definition of an autodialer. Equipment that automatically dials from stored numbers. However, the Court's narrow reading of "using a random or sequential number generator" proved dispositive: because Facebook's system stored specific user phone numbers and dialed only those numbers without generating them via a random or sequential algorithm, it fell outside the TCPA's autodialer definition. Duguid's claim therefore failed at the threshold statutory element, eliminating TCPA liability despite the undisputed automated nature of the calls.
The Conclusion
Conclusion
Decided April 1, 2021. The 9-0 ruling (Sotomayor writing) adopted the narrow reading. An autodialer must use a random or sequential number generator. The decision dramatically narrowed TCPA class action exposure for companies using modern customer-management dialing systems, effectively eliminating billions of dollars in potential liability from systems that dial from stored customer lists.
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