Everalbum's User Referral Program Compliant Under TCPA

Photo sharing and storage app Everalbum ("Ever"), and other social media apps that send SMS invitations to a user's contacts to download the app only at the user's direction comply with all applicable laws, according to the courts and the federal agency charged with overseeing communications, the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"), that have had to evaluate apps similar to Ever.

Social media apps have recently become a target of lawsuits under a federal statute called the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), 47 U.S.C. § 227. The TCPA was enacted in 1991 to combat telemarketing faxes and robo-calls to land lines. As technology developed, the statute's prohibitions were extended to the use of robo-texting, most commonly used in connection with mass marketing campaigns. Now, with the proliferation of social media apps that allow users to invite their friends and family members to connect with them, plaintiffs' lawyers have been bringing claims against app