In 2013, great strides have been made on both the domestic and international fronts to curtail the unwanted practice of blasting consumers – in some cases, unlawfully – with SMS spam.
But between new regulations and growing mass market awareness of consumer rights, SMS spam is rightfully under fire and finally in retreat.
While nothing is more influential and impactful than SMS marketing when done responsibly, effectively, and with the clearly expressed consent of SMS recipients, the scourge of SMS spam has unfairly given the practice of SMS marketing a black eye for too long.
But now, many of these wrongs are being corrected. And the Russian market is the latest location of this important turnaround.
Russia’s upper house has developed a set of amendments to the Law on Communications that would define mass SMS deliveries as a separate service and allow mobile phone users to demand that providers filter spam messages.
Senator Ruslan Gattarov is quoted in local media asserting that “changes would only allow mass deliveries of SMS, MMS and other messages other than voice calls only if the end user gives consent to receiving them.”
“Mobile operators should take an obligation to restrict the mass delivery traffic in their networks,” Gattarov said. “The realization of the suggested changes will significantly reduce the amount of delivered spam.”