New Lawsuit Seeks To Hold Twilio Responsible For Allegedly Illegal Robocalls
A new lawsuit filed against Twilio alleges that the company is turning a blind eye to illegal robocalls made by its users. The plaintiffs in the case are seeking to hold Twilio accountable for the conduct of users on its site. In the new complaint, the plaintiff, Michael Anthony, claims he received numerous robotext messages and robocalls from numbers owned by Twilio without his consent. According to the plaintiff, he spoke with Twilio’s litigation counsel and demanded that the message stop. Nonetheless, they continued.
It’s important to note that Twilio is a platform and did not send the messages itself. Instead, users on the platform are sending illegal robocalls and robotexts to unwitting consumers using the platform and the plaintiffs want to hold Twilio accountable for that. The latest lawsuit seeks to hold Twilio accountable for the unwanted calls and text messages sent by users of its platform. According to the plaintiff, he “notified Twilio that it continually originated unlawful robocalls to his wireless number without consent, Twilio turned a blind eye and did nothing.”
Is Twilio liable for the unwanted robocalls?
That’s precisely the question that the court will help answer. The plaintiff contends that the difference between his lawsuit and other suits of the same type is that he expressly told Twilio to stop allowing its users to make calls to his number. In this case, the question then becomes: Did the plaintiff’s express warning to Twilio constitute foreknowledge and liability? This question isn’t easy to answer. However, platforms like this enrich themselves off of users who then use the platform to violate the law. Does Twilio take on liability for not policing its users? Or is it the users who are singularly liable for making the unwanted calls?
For obvious reasons, the plaintiff hopes that he can hold Twilio liable because he directly asked them to stop making the unwanted calls. Courts have traditionally refused to dismiss lawsuits where the defendant knew that illegal activity was being conducted by its users. The plaintiff also alleges that the FCC ordered Twilio to stop carrying illegal traffic or face a shutdown.
What does it mean?
At present, it’s hard to say how the court will decide this case. However, it could spur litigation against platforms that allow users to violate the terms of the TCPA. For the time being, these platforms are insulated from liability because there is no theory under which to hold them accountable. The plaintiff seeks to change that, and the court could very well side with him. However, the bar to future lawsuits may be that the plaintiff must contact the company first to inform them of the illegal conduct. But that depends entirely on how the case is decided. This is one case worth watching because it could mean a great deal for the future of TCPA litigation.
Talk to a TCPA Violations Attorney in Columbus
The Columbus TCPA claims lawyers at Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represent the interests of consumers who have received harassing or unwanted phone calls from businesses. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can discuss your claim in greater detail.
Source:
natlawreview.com/article/twilio-trouble-enterprising-tcpa-complaint-seeks-hold-twilio-liable-illegal-calls
