SMS/Text Marketing Legal In Massachusetts?
Ross WilliamsPro Member
Investor · Boston MA, Big Sky MT · Member since 2014 · 92 posts · 67 votesSMS/Text Marketing Legal In Massachusetts?
6 Replies
- Investor · Leominster Ma · Member since 2019 · 305 posts · 162 votes4y
@Ross Williams I did texting for a little while. The the regulations tightening and the little amount of motivated sellers I found made me stop. Here is an article I found and what scared me the most is the $1,500 fine per text. That's per text and can add up real fast
Is Mass Texting Illegal?by Ron KinkadeOct 04 2019TwitterFacebookLinkedIn
Is mass texting illegal? It's a question many of our customers ask us before signing up for our service. The reality is that regulations are governing certain aspects of mass messaging, and there are a lot of gray areas as well. There's also the issue of enforcement and holding spammers accountable for breaking the rules. In this post, we'll take a look at what you can, can't, and shouldn't do when mass texting.
Given that we spend a considerable amount of our time on smartphones, taking advantage of a mass texting service is a logical choice for help with communications needs for a new business. As long as you're reaching out to people with the information they want, and you have consent to message them - a mass texting service can be a very powerful communication tool for delivering reminders, notifications, and alerts. Is mass texting illegal? Let's look at the law.
Telephone Consumer Protection Act Of 1991 (or commonly referred to as the TCPA)While mass texting is by no means illegal, it is heavily restricted. The U.S. government has a long history of regulation, protecting consumer privacy concerning telemarketing and robocalls, and this also extends to texting. The most critical piece of legislation narrowing the scope of acceptable telemarketing practices came with the TCPA of 1991, which amended the original Communications Act of 1934.
Unless recipients had given prior consent, as of 1991, companies wishing to employ mass texting or calling had to heed the following restrictions:
● Calling before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. (recipient’s local time) is prohibited.
● Anyone registered in the National Do Not Call Registry cannot be a recipient of an organization’s mass calls or texts.
● Unsolicited faxes for the purposes of marketing are prohibited in any case.
● Robocalls to emergency services, hospitals, doctor’s offices, healthcare facilities are prohibited.
● Any calls made to lines for which the recipient is charged for the call are prohibited.
● No artificial voices or recorded calls can be made to residences without the recipient giving prior consent (opting-in). (This portion gets more specific with the amendment that came in 2013, discussed below)
● Business conducting mass calls or texting must identify themselves, or identify who they are calling for.
● Companies must provide a callback number or reply option.
● A company or organization advertising via mass calls or texts must maintain a Do Not Call (DNC) list of recipients who do not wish to be called or texted. Opt-out requests must be honored for at least five years.
● No solicitations can be made that take up two or more lines of a multiple-line business at a time.
● Violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act give the recipient of any unwanted call or text the right to sue for up to $1,500 per unsolicited text or call.
- Investor · Boston MA, Big Sky MT · Member since 2014 · 92 posts · 67 votes4y
- Flipper / Buyer · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2013 · 160 posts · 80 votes4y
- Lender · Costa Mesa, CA · Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 3 votes4y
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- Real Estate Consultant · Lawrence, MA · Member since 2020 · 216 posts · 157 votes4y
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