Unwanted texts: the same law, and why STOP matters so much

By MercPrivacy · Published 2026-08-01 · Updated 2026-08-02

A text is treated as a call under federal law — same consent requirement, same per-message damages. Replying STOP is the single most consequential thing you can do.

## Texts are calls

Under federal law a text message is treated as a call. Three consequences follow.

**Consent is required.** A marketing text to your mobile using automated equipment generally needs prior express *written* consent — a signed agreement clearly disclosing that you will receive automated marketing at that number, and stating you are not required to agree in order to buy anything.

**They have to prove it, not you.** The sender carries the burden. You never have to prove you did not sign up.

**Damages are per message.** $500 per message, which a court may increase to $1,500 where the violation was willful or knowing. A campaign of a few texts a week over a few months is not a trivial number.

## Why STOP is the most important word

Terms like STOP, END, QUIT, UNSUBSCRIBE and OPT OUT are treated as reasonable ways to withdraw consent, and a sender may not force you into some other exclusive method.

Once sent:

- Messages arriving afterwards are much harder to defend - It ends any prior-relationship footing - It triggers internal do-not-call obligations - In several states it **starts a clock a claim depends on**

That last point catches people out. A number of states now require you to ask the sender to stop and allow a set number of days to cure **before a claim exists at all**. Skipping it can end an otherwise strong case — which is why the opt-out log is often the claim itself.

## Why their consent record usually falls apart

Nearly every defence is a version of *you signed up for this*. What the sender holds is usually much thinner.

Marketing texts are overwhelmingly driven by purchased leads. Somewhere upstream a landing page — a quote comparator, a sweepstakes, a "check your rate" form, sometimes a fake job listing — captured a number and attached a consent artifact. By the time it reaches the sender it may have passed through several aggregators, each hop degrading the record.

The questions that break it open:

- Was the disclosure actually shown, on the page **as rendered at that moment**? - Was this sender on the disclosed list, under the name it actually trades as? - Was it even you? Numbers are mistyped, harvested and fabricated at scale. - Was the number **reassigned** after consent, so it belongs to a stranger? - Is the chain intact? Every hop should have a transfer record. Gaps are common, and fatal to their proof.

## What to keep

Screenshots showing the sending number and timestamp — not forwarded copies. The exported thread if your phone allows. Every STOP you sent, with dates. Every message afterwards. And the link, captured but **not clicked** — where it points often identifies the company faster than anything else.

Related guides

  • Text Spam From Lead Generators: Who Is Actually Liable? — When a quote form turns into a flood of texts, the company that bought your lead and sent or commissioned the messages is usually the liable party, not the website. Here is how the chain works and where the consent fight stands.
  • Texas Telemarketing Texts: What Changed for Recipients in 2025 — Since September 1, 2025, a marketing text to a Texas number is a telephone solicitation under state law. SB 140 extended registration, no-call and enforcement rules to texts and opened DTPA remedies. Here is what it means for you.
  • How to Document Spam Texts So a Claim Actually Holds Up — Screenshot every spam text with the number and timestamp in frame, reply STOP once and keep everything after it, pull your carrier records, and log each message in a timeline. Never delete; the count and sequence are the claim.
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