A recent favorable ruling by the Federal Communications Commission on a petition by SoundBite Communications will have implications throughout the mobile marketing community, according to SoundBite officials.
The ruling permits mobile marketers to send out a single text message confirming that a customer is opting out of further text messages. Though it seems like a simple issue, some mobile marketers had been sued for simply acknowledging via a text message that the marketer had received and was acknowledging a customer’s desire to opt-out of text communications.
“The basic crux of the issue was consumer protection,” SoudBite CEO Jim Milton told Loyalty 360. Most consumers want confirmation of that a marketer has acknowledged their request. But some had objected, claiming these confirmation messages themselves were in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Barclay’s was sued in such a case, leading to an $8.2 million settlement and the emergence of a cottage industry of lawsuits based on messages similar to: “We received your message that you no longer want to receive text message communications from our company,” Milton said. “This has been an inhibitor for companies running mobile marketing campaigns. There are several companies who have not used the text channel because of these issues. It’s been a real dampener on the deployment of mobile marketing campaigns.”
Though SoundBite filed the petition, it was not alone in seeking clarification. The effort had support from CTIA-The Wireless Association® (CTIA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), Council of Better Business Bureaus.
“Consumers deserve to know that their opt-out message requests are properly recorded, confirmed, and executed,” Milton said.
“We are grateful for the FCC’s quick action and decisive recognition that the consumer-friendly practice of sending one-time confirmation text messages is good public policy and consistent with the TCPA and consumer interest,” said Monica Desai, a partner at Patton Boggs LLP, in a prepared statement. “We are pleased the Commission issued a favorable declaratory ruling.”