Short Message Service (SMS)
×

SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




 
September 2009 | Volume 28 / Number 4
On The Line

Short Message Service (SMS)

Regulating Text Messaging and the Contact Center

By Tim Searcy


The oil slick is lapping at our shores again – text messaging and the contact center. Regulatory interest and asserted power will spread out like an oil slick unless held in check. In the case of teleservices, the industry has for a long time been the recipient of unchecked jurisdictional expansion. Theoretically, the way government operates is fairly simple: if jurisdiction is not specifically denied, then it is implicitly granted. A perfect example of this spread has been provided by the states. Because the FCC (News - Alert) in its rulemaking told states that their laws for interstate telemarketing would be almost certainly pre-empted, states saw an opportunity and jumped into the breach with lots of laws.


Because of this, we have a patchwork of hundreds of state and federal regulations instead of one clear standard. Oh well, I have chased that frustration in the past, and that is not the purpose for this month’s missive. No, the latest victim of regulatory expansion through judicial review is social networking, and that is the new shore upon which we must guard against the pollution which has poisoned our other oceans of existence such as inbound and outbound teleservices.


A Little Background
In June, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) also applies to unsolicited text messages. Up until now, it was unclear whether the text messaging that was generated using “automatic telephone dialing systems” was covered under these rules. The court has said it does.





The court also reaffirmed the definition of express consent for the purpose of affiliate marketing. Although the customer in question had consented to additional communication from the company in question and its affiliates, that did not allow a third party to enjoy that same consent. This is a common misconception about the re-sale of data and express consent, which the court simply reinforced in this particular ruling.


Obvious Risks
Of course, this ruling is troubling for any firm that is interested in broad spectrum or narrow-casting text messages to individuals for the purpose of commercial promotion. The rules are not that hard to understand, and at the ATA we conduct many seminars for the proper interpretation of the TCPA and TSR (News - Alert).


Additionally, the entire SMS industry has welcomed a relative lack of regulatory oversight. Although the use of the automatic dialing technology has been under the purview of the FCC on text messaging for awhile, the court case effectively expands the rule to include all aspects of the TCPA about content of messages as well. In some ways, this is a natural next step, and therefore not surprising. However, the changes in Washington, D.C. related to new commissioners and leadership at both the FTC (News - Alert) and FCC present new areas for potential agendas by new leaders.


Not So Obvious Risks We don’t have the time we have enjoyed in the past to examine technologies and their potential uses and abuses. Regulators need to satisfy a rising tide of demand for action from their constituents on the commercial application of text, social networking and Web to phone. For this reason, the industry must frame its answers and suggestions in the next few months instead of over the next several years. Time is not our friend, and the future of the unified contact center is at stake.


In the past, the teleservices industry has been the “smart” technology player in the room with the regulators and legislators. Unfortunately, this new commercial toolbox has developed with everyone operating at roughly the same speed. Consequently, when we talk to the regulators, they are also the consumers that are either annoyed or pleased by the technology that is being discussed. For this reason, the real world applications are very personal, and the dialog moves to first person as in, “When I get an unsolicited text from you people (implied bad teleservices practicioners),” instead of something like, “We have heard of cases of abuse using text messaging.” When regulators start to take the subject of regulation personally, it can certainly create a strong motivation for more expansive rules.


Let’s not move past text messaging without the acknowledgement that this form of communication is the well-accepted kin to the social networking phenomenon. This is all about how we find out who to contact, what we say to them when we reach them, and which new Web 2.0 or 3.0 channel we employ for that contact. Everything new will go through the same old pattern of regulatory consideration.


Editor’s Note: The numerous aspects of these new channels will be the focus of ATA’s Annual Convention in New Orleans, Oct. 4-7. To learn more about this event, visit www.ataconnect.org.


CIS Magazine Table of Contents









Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: tmc@tmcnet.com.
Comments about this site: webmaster@tmcnet.com.

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2023 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy