Lawmakers to 'Closely Follow' Impact of SCOTUS 'Facebook v. Duguid' Ruling

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and other lawmakers said Thursday they “will closely follow the impact” of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Facebook v. Duguid. The court sided with Facebook in a ruling last week that favored a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (see 2104010063). The decision, which effectively removes “text messages from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act,” may “allow scammers to send out a barrage of texts or calls without fear of reprisal or consequences,” the lawmakers said. “The last thing Americans need right now is an onslaught of texts or calls from scammers trying to swindle them out of their hard-earned money.” The others who signed onto the statement were House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio; Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D.; and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Those lawmakers led work on what eventually became the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (see 1912310028). Markey previously vowed to file legislation aimed at addressing the Facebook ruling.