SMS Cellphone Spam Declared Illegal

TCPALaw writes "The FCC has just released an order that reiterates that SMS spam messages to cellphones are illegal under the existing Telephone Consumer Protection Act and now also under the CAN-SPAM Act. Each such unsolicited message you receive without permission entitles you to take the sender to small claims court and collect a minimum of $500 for each violation. They said this in 2003, and now have reiterated it. To quote: 'In 2003, we released a Report and Order in which we reaffirmed that the TCPA prohibits any call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded message to any wireless telephone number. We concluded that this encompasses both voice calls and text calls, including Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging calls, to wireless phone numbers.' The order is in 3 parts, one, two, and three."

Comments

So does this mean that..

[rusty0101]

... if I set up a system to monitor several servers, or routers, that sends me a status message on device down events, or periodically sends me an update that things are looking good, and the company I did this for lets me go without stopping the notifications, can I take the company to small claims court and get myself $500 for each such notification?

I kind of doubt it, but it might help defray the lost wages...

Re:So does this mean that..

[macdaddy]

I doubt it. You have a prior commercial relationship with the sender and unless you explicitly tell them to stop the transmissions you would have no basis for a complaint. Tell them to stop and they don't and you'll have something to complain about. It's really quite simple. The same applies to spam. Establish a commercial relationship with Company X and they can start sending you commercial messages. Tell them to stop and they must. If they don't then you can complain.

It would certainly be worth your while to test

[Marxist Hacker 42]

And I'd give you 50/50 chances in court. But you'd better keep a damn good log of the notifications.

This is moot though.

[mind21_98]

SMS messages usually cost money in the US. It'd cost the same as direct mail to send spam out to people, so it's just not economically viable. On the other hand, spam is basically free (besides the Internet connection) and is a quick and unfortunately easy way to promote oneself. I really wouldn't worry too much.

Re:This is moot though.

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Not entirely true- many SMS providers such as Verizon, TMobile, Sprint and AT&T provide e-mail addresses that are linked to the SMS system. Of course, any e-mail to those addresses gets truncated at 160 chars- but just look at slashdot sigs which get trunc'd at 120 chars. Well written spam COULD get through- if you tried hard at the writing. And basically free to the sender- though likely 10-15 cents a message to the receiver if it isn't in their calling plan.

So does this mean...

[Timeburn]

If my email inbox is forwarded to my phone via SMS, does that mean I can sue for normal spam?

On the other hand, I've seen arguments here that this is because SMS is a paid service (e.g. a quantifiable cost, unlike email). But what if I only get my email through my cell phone?

Cingular charges by the k for data use, so suddenly there's a quantifiable cost for my email. Does this mean that the door will open here for normal spam?

Though frankly, I won't really be happy until Congress rewrites drug laws into spam laws. Possesion with intent to distribute (SPAM) gets you 10-20 sort of a thing.

Re:So does this mean...

[macdaddy]

If my email inbox is forwarded to my phone via SMS, does that mean I can sue for normal spam?

Nice idea but I'm afraid not. The intended recipient is your email address, which is where delivery takes place. Forwarding mail to your cell phone is one of your own actions. It's like forwarding your home phone to your cell. Telemarketers can't call your cell but they can call your home (unless you tell them not to or sign up for the DNCL). It's not possible for the telemarketer to know that his call to your home ends up getting forwarded to a restricted number, your cell. Just like it's not possible for a telemarketer to know that a number they dial that's not on the DNCL will be forwarded to one that is. The forwarding is your own action and not the fault of the sender.

Re:And the rest...?

[Marxist Hacker 42]

It isn't if you were smart enough to put your number on the Federal DNC list- I haven't had a *sales* call since last October, on either home or cell.