Litigating TCPA Class Actions in the World of AI-Driven Communications (On-Demand)

Course Description

This course will cover some TCPA background case and regulatory rulings to give the audience an understanding of the current state of the TCPA. Then, it will address the first wave of complaints involving allegations related to AI communications. The course will also address how to bring cases against technology platforms and whether you should. Additionally, the speaker will talk about consent quality, discovery strategies, and settlement strategies within the TCPA class action context.

Principles

• Start With the Governing TCPA Framework
  • Counsel must understand the significance of Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid and subsequent FCC developments before evaluating an AI-communication claim.
  • The threshold questions—particularly those involving the technology used, the type of communication, and the statutory requirements—can determine whether a claim is viable.
• AI Changes the Communications Landscape, Not the Need for Statutory Fit
  • AI voice and messaging technologies create new factual scenarios, but plaintiffs and defendants still must analyze those communications under the applicable TCPA statutory and regulatory framework.
  • The first wave of AI-related complaints provides important lessons about how existing TCPA concepts may apply to emerging technology.
• Consent Quality Can Be as Important as Consent Existence
  • A central issue in TCPA litigation is not simply whether a consumer technically gave consent, but what was consented to, how it was obtained, to whom it extended, and whether the resulting communications fell within its scope.
  • Consent evidence therefore deserves careful attention at both the pleading and discovery stages.
• Identify the Right Defendant and Build the Class Carefully
  • AI communications can involve multiple participants—including businesses, technology platforms, vendors, and service providers.
  • Counsel must carefully evaluate platform liability, agency and responsibility theories, commonality, typicality, ascertainability, and other class-certification considerations before deciding whom to sue and how to structure the class.
• Litigation Strategy Must Account for Per-Call Damages
  • The TCPA’s statutory damages structure can make class exposure extraordinarily significant because damages can accumulate on a per-call or per-violation basis.
  • As a result, discovery, class definition, liability allocation, and settlement strategy should be developed with the potential scale of aggregate statutory damages in mind.

Syllabus

1. Significance of Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021)
2. Impacts of the FCC’s 2024 Declaratory Ruling
3. The First Wave of AI Voice Complaints
4. Structuring TCPA Class Actions
5. The Consent Quality Problem
6. AI Platform Liability
7. Settlements Under the Per-Call Statutory Damages Structure