14 DAY TRIAL // U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Bill Nelson have introduced a bill called the m-SPAM Act aimed at fighting mobile spam. The proposed legislation involves the creation of a national do-not-call-like list that companies would be legally required to honor when sending commercial text messages to mobile phones.
According to the senators, unsolicited commercial SMS messages can become a serious problem in the upcoming years, if it is not addressed. Sen. Snowe notes that these text messages are not only an annoyance, but that they also cost mobile subscribers money. Unlike in other countries, mobile users in the U.S. can pay up to $0.20 for receiving SMS messages.
"Mobile spam invades both a consumer's cell phone and monthly bill. There is also increasing concern that mobile spam will become more than just an annoyance – the viruses and malicious spyware that are often attached to traditional spam will most likely be more prevalent on wireless devices through m-spam," Snowe comments. According to Network World, Sen. Nelson notes that, "Spam e-mail is bad enough. Now, we are seeing a proliferation of unwanted text messages – and consumers are getting stuck paying."
The m-SPAM bill, which was introduced on April 2, was necessary because the CAN-SPAM Act of 2004 only tackled the issue of e-mail spam. This also includes unsolicited commercial e-mails sent to mobile phones and other wireless devices, but does not apply to text messages (SMS).
The legislation looks to extend the powers of the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission, making it easier for them to hold companies, organizations and individuals responsible for sending such SMS messages.
The SMS is certainly not a new technology, but its popularity continues to increase every year. It is estimated that 1.1 billion SMS text messages were received by U.S. consumers in 2007, representing a 38% increase over 2006. In 2008, the number was estimated at 1.5 billion.
However, sending SMS messages is not completely unregulated and legal precedents of being sued for mobile spam exist. In September 2008, Timberland settled on paying $7 million after it was sued for sending unsolicited commercial messages via SMS. These actions, undertaken on behalf of Timberland by a third-party marketing company, were considered in violation of the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act.