TCPA Tracker: January-February 2026

I. Ninth Circuit Holds Text Messages Containing Video Are Not Artificial or Prerecorded Voice

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision by the United States District Court for the District of Arizona to dismiss a claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), finding that a text message containing video files that a recipient must affirmatively play could not sustain a cause of action.

Plaintiff-Appellant Jacob Howard filed a class action against Defendant Republican National Committee alleging that Defendant sent text messages with "an artificial or prerecorded voice in a video" without prior consent. The district court granted Defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, finding that Defendant had not made a call using a prerecorded voice in violation of § 227(b)(1)(A) because the video required the recipient to press it before playing.