Victory Processing, LLC v. Fox, No. 18-35163 (9th Cir. 2019)
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Montana Code section 45-8-216(1)(e)—which restricts automated telephone calls promoting a political campaign or any use related to a political campaign—violates the First Amendment. The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment for the Attorney General of Montana, holding that regulating robocalls based on the content of their messaging presents a more severe threat to First Amendment freedoms than regulating their time, place, and manner. Furthermore, prohibiting political robocalls strikes at the heart of the First Amendment, as well as disproportionately disadvantages political candidates with fewer resources.
After determining that plaintiff had standing to challenge Montana's Robocall Statute, the panel held that Montana's content-based restrictions on robocalls cannot survive strict scrutiny. Although protecting personal privacy was a compelling state interest, the panel held that the statute was not narrowly tailored to further this interest, the statute was both underinclusive and overinclusive, and thus the statute's restriction on political messages did not survive strict scrutiny.
Court Description: Civil Rights The panel reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Attorney General of Montana and remanded in an action alleging that Montana’s Robocall Statute, Montana Code section 45-8-216(1)(e), which restricts automated telephone calls promoting a political campaign or any use related to a political campaign, violates the First Amendment. The panel explained that regulating robocalls based on the content of their messaging presents a more severe threat to First Amendment freedoms than regulating their time, place, and manner. In particular, prohibiting political robocalls strikes at the heart of the First Amendment, as well as disproportionately disadvantages political candidates with fewer resources. The panel held that plaintiff had standing to challenge the Robocall Statute. The panel noted that as an integral part of its operations, plaintiff engages in political consulting and public opinion polling primarily through the use of automated telephone calls. Plaintiff alleged that it had sustained injury, the injury was traceable to the Robocall Statute, and the relief plaintiff sought would redress its own alleged injuries. VICTORY PROCESSING V. FOX 3 The panel determined that because Montana’s Robocall Statute was plainly content-based, strict scrutiny applied. The panel held that Montana demonstrated a compelling state interest—protecting personal privacy—in regulating automated telephone calls. The panel held, however, that the Robocall Statute was not narrowly tailored to further the state’s interest in protecting privacy. The panel held that the statute was both underinclusive and overinclusive. It was underinclusive because by singling out only five topics of robocalling for regulation—including messages related to political campaigns—the Robocall Statute left consumers open to an unlimited proliferation of robocalls on other topics. The statute was overinclusive because robocalls related to political campaigns had not been shown to pose a threat to individual privacy. The panel concluded that the Robocall Statute’s restriction on political messages did not survive strict scrutiny.
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