Slashdot Mirror
Aussie Regulator Comes Down On SMS Spam
An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Communications and Media Authority has commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court against several local and international companies over allegedly unsolicited SMS spam. It's the first time the regulator has used its powers under the Spam Act to pursue an alleged SMS spammer through the Courts. Other companies have been fined or committed to an 'enforceable undertaking' to avoid this type of action (although these are not without issue). Another firm accused of SMS spam accused the regulator of being overzealous after it received a formal warning. The regulator appears to have instituted a crackdown on the premium mobile content industry in recent months, culminating in this latest action."
Find them guilty and kill them with fire.
Now of course if these are run of the mill companies trying to promote their products by simply telling you about it on the phone, then they are telemarketers and technically not spammers, so they will likely walk away from this, unless justice exists?
Nah, it's too easy to doubt justice, with all the evidence that it does not exist. Of course these defendants will come up with a great defense and cost taxpayers more money than they will lose from the publicity generated by a big court case.
The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
standard. I've received spam texts from about 3 sources, several per day from each, since the first day I got my phone/number.
I think its possible to call verizon (fun), and have them blacklisted for me but from what I've heard its not even free to do so (even if it is, the customer services call probably takes 30 mins).
If I didn't have an unlimited text plan, every spam msg would cost me. For those without such aplan, the ability block a source *from the phone* is necessary.
I was seriously considering those Luxury vRolexes and with /iagra at $0.87 per dose how could I possibly go wrong!
Painful death to the people doing the actual spamming, and complete dissolution of any company caught using spam for advertising.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
mfh joked by suggesting you might be a spammer, and in light of an inquisition -- anyone could easily point a finger at anyone else and suggest they are a spammer, and therefore they become a spammer in the public's eye, and are executed.
Do unsolicited gifts laws apply in the us? about being forced to pay for in coming texts? Has any one taking that to court?
This is like a COD that they say it hear YOU PAY NOW! You don't want it WE SHIPPED to you so YOU PAY.
If UPS, FEDEX, or the USPS tried the same thing the courts likely kill that off fast and what if your only choice was pay for all in coming and what you send even if you send very little or no shipping at all and the only way is to pay for a package deal that costs much more then you need to pay and comes with way more then you use per month.
For the information of Merkins out there: here in Australia, we don't pay anything to receive calls or SMSs. This only happens when we're roaming internationally, where the cost of calls can be nearly doubled as the telco slugs both caller and callee. Vodafone is a particular case in point.
Not yet, because at the minute it's not a huge inconvenience to most people. It's not impacting the providers bottom line, in fact, I assume that SMS Spam is currently profitable for the providers.
Once the spam ratio increases, and people start canceling SMS and blocking all SMS's, the providers will solve the problem because it will impact a very profitable part of their business.
Unlike e-mail spam, the network is well controlled and so there will be technical solutions, but not until people stop using SMS.
Replace it with Jabber. No wait, Jabber with OpenPGP on top. Not signed by an identity I can WoT to: bit bucket. Signed by an identity I can WoT to: reputation lookup, then display or bit bucket.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Of course, none of this would really be an issue if cell companies priced texts according to what it costs to carry them: nothing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/business/28digi.html?_r=2
Posted by timothy ...
from the tastes-like-long-pig dept.
TMI, Timothy.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Aussie Regulator *Shakes* Down SMS Spam. The spam won't stop, and the government gets a payday. It's just a shake-down.
So what?
A government agency would be hard pressed to find a more popular cause, If regulators are stringing spammers up by their short and curlies the general public will be more likely to hold a parade than anything else.
In the internet age most of us hate spam so much we'll cheerfully tell you it should be a capital offence, no government is ever going to get negative press for beating on the spammers.
I filed a complaint with the ACMA about unsolicited SMS spam, and they wasted no time in coming down hard on the perpetrators. The scourge of email and SMS spam isn't going away anytime soon, but I think they're doing a great job of enforcing what they can, and teaching business about what's appropriate.
Nice wedding snaps.
This is what you get when you let gays marry.
A nerf herder! A nerf herder! - Typical Alderaanian Princess
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Hi. FYI, in Europe we don't pay to receive SMS within a state. So from my point of view, this "SMS spam problem" is a non-problem. Have people sending SMS pay. End of story, move on.
Yet to be honest, this is still a reap off. SMSing in Switzerland costs 0.10euro/SMS. Head of Swiss mobile phone operators society said on radio RSR the cost for providers is actually 0.02Euro/SMS. No one is naive here: if that is the publicly acknowledged cost, that means - rough un-sourced estimate - real cost may well be 0.002Euro/SMS. So that is still a vast reap off. To the extent that European instances recently forced operators to lower their unjustified high prices. Ha! See, let the market be totally free, and feel the citizen be totally fucked. Funny how I can't help thinking of nowadays western economic crash. Let the market do whatever, noooooo worries folks : citizens will anyway pay.
Sidewise, I would accept to have to pay a tinny fee per e-mail I send: like 0.00001Euro. Poof, e-mail spam is dead. End of story, move on. Yes that would mean if I use mailing-list, I would pay for every single recipient: exactly what's required. I mean, I'd have to wonder am I really making sense enough to justify the cost ? Ach nein ! I'd have to admit that vast amount of what I send is rubbish. And... poof: less shite on the net. Exactly what's required. ( And... poof - domino's cascade - every one would dam care not to have zombified PC. )
Z.