What is the FCC and how are they involved with text messaging?
The FCC stands for Federal Communications Commission. It is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communication by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in the United States.
The FCC is responsible for managing and licensing the use of the radio frequency spectrum, which is a limited resource used by broadcasters, wireless carriers, and other communications providers.
It also enforces rules and regulations to ensure that communication providers operate in the public interest, and it administers programs to support access to communication services, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
The FCC regulates text messaging primarily through its rules related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The TCPA is a federal law that regulates telemarketing calls and text messages, and it requires companies to obtain prior express written consent before sending marketing text messages to consumers.
What is the FCC doing to crack down on texts?
Currently, there is a new rule laid down by the FCC, that will block text messages from ‘suspicious sources’ like invalid, unallocated and unused phone numbers.
This regulation requires providers to block these senders and will prevent, for example, robocallers from continuing scams to people.
This, along with more difficult consumer consent for marketing and the Do Not Call registry, will make sure that people will get less unwanted text messages in the future in the United States.
How can I still send my texts without being considered spam?
Luckily, sending texts online is a difficult story for the FCC. If you use online services, your text is sent in a legitimate way, using details that are unique to your message.
Because online text messages are harder to trace, it is not easy for a provider or a receiver to ‘prove’ upon sending or receiving, that a text is spam or legitimate.
This will allow you to send bulk texts to your call lists, without being recognized as ‘spam’.
Another way that you can circumvent these rules, is by using Flash SMS. This uses the phones popup feature and lets a user read your text immediately when it gets received.
Because pop-ups are usually meant for important apps or notifications, this way of sending your message to a phone number, will almost guarantee that the recipient will read the text and not consider it spam.
Of course, regulations and rules can change and it is important to follow-up on what is and is not allowed in a given country, but sending texts online often fall behind barriers as they are sent from and to anywhere in the world.
