This class action lawsuit claims that Forever 21 violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending unsolicited and unconsented-to commercial text messages to consumers.
The TCPA was enacted by Congress in 1991 and is implemented by the FCC. Its purpose is to protect consumers’ privacy and prevent business from harassing them at their homes and on their cell phones. It makes it illegal for businesses to make robocalls cellular phones and telephones, send junk faxes, and send mass-automated text messages to consumers without having consent. In 2015, Congress confirmed that text messages which originate from the Internet fall within the ambit of the TCPA’s prohibitions.
One plaintiff in this case, Huang, is a resident of Queens County, New York. On November 28, 2016, Huang received a message from Forever 21 on her cellular phone through the texting app WeChat. The message was advertising a 50% off sale. On December 2, 2016, Huang received a second message from Forever 21 advertising the same sale. These marketing texts were sent through the use of an automatic-capable dialing system and at no point did Huang give consent to receive such messages. The same messages were sent to many other consumers nationwide.
WeChat is an app that relies upon cellular phones and cellular phone numbers. Like “iMessage,” WeChat uses Wi-Fi when it is available and cellular data the rest of the time. The account is linked to the user’s phone number and the app has access to the phone’s address book and storage.
Based on the facts of the case, plaintiffs allege that Forever 21 violated the TCPA by sending unsolicited text messages to consumers using the WeChat app.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
