Need a stringent law against pesky SMS adverts

In the absence of a stringent law , unsolicited commercial communication through Short Messaging Service (SMS) has become a major source of harassment for cell phone users in the country.

Consumers are in fact bombarded by text messages from two distinct groups. In the first group, are all those real estate developers (biggest culprits) , diagnostic laboratories, peddlers of weight loss formulations and agencies selling financial products, whom you have never met or contacted.

In the second group, are the retail establishments from where you would have made some purchase. In fact every time you swipe your card at a retail outlet, you are asked to give your mobile number, as if it is part of a security drill involving the credit or the debit card.

And they swear that they will not use the number for messaging you. But within minutes of your stepping out of the shop, you get a message thanking you for your purchase. And that will be just the beginning — you can expect marketing messages every day, several times a day.

And they clog your message box to such an extent that you may well miss the most important messages that you get from your bank about usage of your ATM card or credit card or changes in your bank balance through debits and credits.

Ironically, even though the regulations drawn up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to stop such unwanted commercial communication has considerably brought down marketing calls, it has failed to put stop to text messages.

In fact the Telecom Customer Communications Preference Regulations 2010, which gives consumers an option of fully or partially blocking all unsolicited commercial communication, says that if you have registered in the “National Do Not Call” Register established under the Telecom Unsolicited Commercial Communications Regulations, 2007, you are not required to re-register and your registration will be valid under “fully blocked category”.

The regulation defines ‘unsolicited commercial communication’ as any commercial communication which a subscriber opts not to receive.

But obviously, this consumer choice or preference is being flouted with impunity by commercial establishments.

Let’s face it, today, what we need is a strong, pro-consumer regulation that will stop corporate India from such intrusive campaigns to sell their products and services. A regulation, that will not require consumers to say that they do not want unsolicited marketing communication, but put the onus on commercial establishments to get the express or explicit consent of the consumer before sending any marketing message . And provide a deterrent financial penalty on those who fail to comply.

I must mention here, the Canadian Anti-spam legislation that is worth emulation. The regulation prohibits companies from sending commercial communication without the consent of the consumer.

And the responsibility is on the company sending the message to prove that it obtained the consent of the consumer. Sending any marketing message without such consent invites a maximum penalty of $1 million in case of individuals and $10 million in case of companies.

Consumers who are in receipt of unwanted messages can complain to the ‘Spam Reporting Centre’. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is primarily responsible for enforcing the law, investigates into violations and imposes monetary penalties.

The law in fact goes well beyond prohibiting spam. It also provides for penalties for misleading promotional content and this is enforced by the Canadian Competition Bureau.

We must have a similar law to stop indiscriminate commercial messaging on cell phones. The mobile phone, which is virtually in the hands of every Indian citizen and thereby become a tool of empowerment, will cease to be so, if the telecom regulator does not step in immediately and rescue consumers from this menace.