Block Inc Cash App 12.5M Settlement Over Unsolicited Referral Texts in Washington

Block Inc., the company behind Cash App, faced a Washington-based class action over marketing-style “Invite friends” referral texts that recipients say they never asked to receive. The messages—often sent by existing users to promote Cash App and offer a small bonus—can feel personal even though they function as commercial advertising, and they are part of a broader wave of litigation targeting how apps and platforms drive growth through share-by-text features. The lawsuit (Bottoms v. Block Inc.) was filed on the theory that Cash App’s referral program helped facilitate unsolicited commercial texts to Washington residents without “clear and affirmative” prior consent, allegedly violating Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act and the state Consumer Protection Act. Block denied wrongdoing but agreed to a $12.5 million settlement, which received final approval on Dec. 2, 2025; eligible class members—Washington residents who received a qualifying referral text between Nov. 14, 2019, and Aug. 7, 2025—can receive an estimated $88 to $147 depending on claim volume, highlighting how expensive “growth hacking” can become when consent and disclosure are disputed. More broadly, this case fits a national pattern of lawsuits over unsolicited texts and app-enabled referral invites, often brought under state consumer-protection laws and the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which restricts certain automated or marketing texts without proper consent and has driven large settlements across tech, retail, and delivery platforms. For the fintech and payments industry, the implication is clear: referral programs and “send to contacts” tools need careful compliance design—transparent consent flows, limits on how invitations are generated and delivered, and clear identification of promotional content—because regulators and courts increasingly treat these messages as advertising, not harmless friend-to-friend sharing.