On June 17, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied Brown-Daub Chevrolet of Nazareth’s motion to dismiss a putative class action alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) National Do Not Call Registry (DNCR) provisions. In Pero v. Brown-Daub Chevrolet of Nazareth (E.D. Pa. June 17, 2026), the court considered whether a text message is a “telephone call” under Section 227(c) of the TCPA, and concluded that it is.

The TCPA restricts certain telemarketing communications and, through Section 227(c), provides a private right of action to a person who receives more than one prohibited telephone call within a 12-month period. The plaintiff alleged that she registered her number on the DNCR in 2021, gave the dealership her number in October 2024 to receive truck sales information, later opted out of texts, and then received six unwanted texts between January 8 and March 28, 2025.

The court’s analysis is notable in the current  environment. The Supreme Court recognized that Chevron deference has been abolished and that courts must exercise independent judgment rather than defer automatically to agency interpretations. At the same time, it emphasized that agency interpretations may still deserve respect as the product of “a body of experience and informed judgment,” particularly where Congress delegated implementation authority to the FCC.

Turning to the statutory text, the court focused on Section 227(a)(4), which defines “telephone solicitation” as the initiation of a “telephone call or message” for telemarketing purposes. Although texts did not exist when Congress enacted the TCPA, the court found that Congress “intended to prohibit more than solicitations by telephone” because it also used the phrase “by message.” Applying ordinary meaning, the court concluded that a text message is “a communication (message) transmitted by a telephone,” and therefore falls within the statute.

The court also gave “considerable weight” to the FCC’s interpretation and noted the FCC’s 2024 clarification that DNCR protections extend to text messages. Considering the statutory language, FCC rules, and the “overwhelming majority of courts,” the court held that texts are calls under Section 227(c). For companies using SMS campaigns, they should treat texts to DNCR-listed numbers as regulated telemarketing contacts, confirm the required consent, and make opt-outs durable across systems and personnel. The decision also suggests that post-Loper Bright challenges to FCC TCPA interpretations may face headwinds where the agency’s position aligns with statutory text and the weight of judicial authority.