FCC mobile spam rule doesn't cover some SMS

A rule prohibiting mobile-phone spam adopted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission earlier this month doesn't prohibit phone-to-phone text messaging, but FCC officials believe the new rule, combined with a 13-year-old law, should protect U.S. mobile phone customers against unsolicited commercial e-mail, reports infoworld.

"The text of the new FCC order, released Thursday, notes that the FCC's Aug. 4 action to prohibit mobile-phone spam applies specifically to Internet-to-phone messages addressed to a domain name, not to phone-to-phone messages using the popular Short Message Service.

While the new FCC order covers any Internet-to-phone messages using SMS sent to a domain name address, most SMS messages use the recipient's phone number to deliver the message. The new FCC order prohibits the sending of commercial messages to mobile-phone domains without the permission of the subscriber.

At least one critic questions whether the FCC's failure to address many SMS messages in its latest order could open mobile-phone users up to spam or cause confusion about what text advertisements are legal. But FCC officials say the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) already bans most mobile-phone spam not addressed by the recent order. "

emily | 10:00 AM | Spam, Viruses and Hoaxes |
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