Looks Like It's Now Illegal To Send SMS Advertising Without Written Permission

10 replies
I saw this the other day, and checked this form's search to see if it was listed here. Search couldn't find it so...

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act has an addition that as of October 16, 2013, for any SMS advertising you send, you must first have permission in writing from the person to whom you are sending the SMS.

As of this past Wednesday, the fine for sending unrequested SMSs is now $1,500 per text message.

Article from law firm:

New TCPA Rules Effective October 16, 2013

:-Don
#advertising #illegal #permission #send #sms #written
  • Profile picture of the author Horny Devil
    Banned
    About time. Phone companies have sold on our information for years, regardless of consumer opinion. I signed up for airtime, not spam.
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    • Profile picture of the author honestim
      Mobile industry is evolving fast and the whirlwind journey had to get some sanity into it at some point in time. Good for the average consumer!

      Cheers
      HonestIM
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  • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
    Good. Text advertisements are really too far. Absolutely no one wants to receive ads on their phone.
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    On the whole, you get what you pay for.

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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    Heck yeah! SMS messages COULD cost a BUNDLE! If a company effectively charges you illegally, THEY should have to pay for the cost, added infrastructure, inconvenience, etc... $1500 per message is probably a fair amount. As for phone companies, if they give out the info for calls and messages, THEY should get a healthy charge ALSO!

    Heck, do you realize that if you park in a handicapped spot at an amusement park, etc.... are handicapped, but don't register with the DMV, you could be fined HUNDREDS of dollars, and even have your car towed for so much more? ALL because you MIGHT inconvenience a person that obviously would be a hindrance to most around, etc....

    Why shouldn't advertisers and providers be charged for using PRIVATE PROPERTY with a FAR greater chance of inconvenience?

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author carlamae
    However, if you optin with your cell phone number, then you've established that as your form of communication. Just a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author Graham Maddison
    I wish they would enforce this worldwide .. I live in Thailand and get bombarded all the time with unsolicited sms and phone calls from call centers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Shook
      You could see the handwriting on the wall for this once the big companies got wind of how easy and cost effective this was to implement. IDK if there are any WSO's left on this but it would make sense not to buy them if there are.
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      • Profile picture of the author Brandon Tanner
        Just wanted to point out that the term "written permission" is being used rather loosely here, and does not mean that you need a signed physical document from someone in order to send them SMS ads. A simple webform or email agreement is sufficient, so long as it clearly states that the recipient will be receiving commercial text advertisements from you.

        In other words... if you're an SMS marketer, so long as your SMS sign-up process is completely transparent, and you are only sending out solicited ads, then you've got nothing to worry about, and the entire process can still be 100% automated via your website / SMS provider. The new TCPA rules will only negatively affect people sending out unsolicited ads (which of course, is a good thing).

        From the TCPA rules...

        Compliance with the E-SIGN Act satisfies this requirement, meaning that electronic or digital forms of signature are acceptable (i.e., agreements obtained via email, website form, text message, telephone keypress or voice recording).
        Evidence of Internet-provided written consent includes, but is not limited to, website pages that contain consumer consent language and fields, associated screenshot of the consent webpage as seen by the consumer where the phone number was inputted, complete data record submitted by the consumer (with time and date stamp), together with the applicable consumer IP address.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnben1444
    Lol i thought sending such unsolicited SMS has been illegal.
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  • Profile picture of the author club20coaching
    I hate sms advertising! When people do it to me I'm about as mad as I can get. I'm ok with less spam
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