This article provides an overview of the importance of adhering to regulatory compliance around spam and opt-outs in SMS messaging campaigns.
Important: Non-compliance with relevant spam laws can have serious consequences for your business both financially and reputationally. The information below is not a substitute for legal advice but just some general information to get your started and to get an awareness of these important rules. We strongly recommend you get legal advice to check that your organization is complying with relevant global SMS regulation. You are also reminded that you are required to comply with relevant global spam laws when using the Sinch Engage platform under your customer contract with us.
Spam and Opt-Out resources
The SMS landscape is regulated to ensure customers are free to determine who can and cannot contact them, withdraw their consent to receiving contact or messages at any time and to ensure that customers are free to identify which messages are valuable and which are considered spam.
As a result, many countries, such as the US, the UK, Australia, NZ and EU Member States, have distinct regulations regarding texting customers – especially text message marketing.
Below is a list of resources in these countries and just some of the important regulatory instruments that govern text message communication.
New Zealand
- Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007
- Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) website has a lot of helpful information on spam compliance at https://www.dia.govt.nz/Spam
Australia
- Spam Act 2003 (Cth)
- Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) regulates spam compliance in Australia and has lots of information about spam compliance on its website: https://www.acma.gov.au/
United States
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act
- CAN-SPAM Act
- The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) has a Messaging Principles & Best Practice guide at https://api.ctia.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/170119-ctia-messaging-principles-and-best-practices.pdf
- The Federal Communications Commission has some good general information about the TCPA and FCC rules located at https://www.fcc.gov/general/telemarketing-and-robocalls
- The ACA International website also has a lot of helpful information relating to the TCPA located at https://www.acainternational.org/tcpa/tcpa-statute-and-regulations
United Kingdom
- Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (as amended) (‘PECRs’) and overlaps with the GDPR
EU
Spam regulation in the EU is not fully harmonised among the 27 member states so regulations may differ between states