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Thursday, October 29, 2026

Texts Still Count as Calls Under TCPA's DNC Rules, W.D. Tex. Rules in El Paso

A federal court in El Paso has again ruled that text messages count as calls under the TCPA's do-not-call rules, splitting from other courts that have gone the other way. Separately, Gmail's inbox placement has dropped sharply this year according to a new deliverability benchmark.

1Lookup Signal Report

2.1% of 3,824 email checks came back undeliverable on 1Lookup today

Deliverable rate ran at 97.8% of checks, up 12.3 points from the trailing seven-day average of 85.5%. Undeliverable ran at 2.1%, down 5.6 points from the trailing seven-day average of 7.7%. The improvement comes the same week a major mailbox provider's inbox placement has been reported to be falling.

Email deliverability

3,824 checks

  • deliverable97.8%
  • undeliverable2.1%

Every completed lookup on 1Lookup this UTC day.

  1. 01

    W.D. Tex. rules in El Paso that text messages remain calls under the TCPA's do-not-call provisions

    A court in El Paso, part of the W.D. Tex., held that the TCPA's do-not-call rules apply to SMS text messages, not just voice calls. This runs counter to a trend of courts around the country that have been ruling the DNC rules do not apply to text messages. The ruling means a business sued over unsolicited marketing texts in that jurisdiction cannot rely on the argument that DNC rules are voice-only.

    Why it matters: If you send marketing texts, the legal ground is not settled nationwide. In this jurisdiction, treating texts as exempt from do-not-call rules is not a safe assumption. Businesses texting prospects should keep do-not-call suppression practices in place for text campaigns, not just calls.

  2. 02

    Gmail's inbox placement rates have dropped sharply this year, new deliverability benchmark shows

    Gmail has historically posted the highest average inbox placement rates of any mailbox provider. According to Validity's latest deliverability benchmark, that has changed dramatically this year, with deliverability at Gmail falling significantly. The report examines what the drop means for email senders and marketing leaders heading into Black Friday.

    Why it matters: If you rely on email to reach prospects, a drop in Gmail inbox placement means more of your messages may land in spam folders right as the holiday sales season ramps up. Senders should check their own Gmail placement rates now rather than assume past performance holds.

Questions people asked today

Does the TCPA's do-not-call rule apply to text messages?
It depends on the court. A W.D. Tex. ruling out of El Paso held that text messages are still calls under the TCPA's do-not-call rules, even though other courts nationally have ruled the opposite way.
Is Gmail's inbox placement actually getting worse in 2026?
Yes, according to Validity's latest deliverability benchmark. Gmail has traditionally had the highest average inbox placement rate of any mailbox provider, but that rate has dropped sharply this year.
What percent of email checks came back undeliverable on 1Lookup today?
Across 3,824 checks run on the 1Lookup platform on 2026-10-29, 2.1% came back undeliverable, down 5.6 points from the trailing seven-day average of 7.7%.

Check your own numbers against this

Why are my calls showing as spam likely? · What share of phone numbers are VOIP? · How many numbers are invalid or disconnected?