SMS short code auditing involves regulation from the CTIA – The Wireless Association. When it comes to SMS marketing and text marketing campaigns, SMS short code auditing requires those text marketing providers to adhere to the regulations set forth by the CTIA.
SMS short code auditing entails regulation from the CTIA as text marketers and the text marketing service providers must adhere to a group of guidelines in order to stay compliant with rules from the Mobile Marketing Association and other legal mandates from the federal government. The CTIA is an industry trade group that works to represent the interests of the wireless telecommunications industry. This association advocates in the interest of all of the governmental levels.
SMS Short Code Auditing:
One of the responsibilities from the CTIA is to ensure the text marketing providers as well as their customers using the text marketing service are adhering to the federal and CTIA guidelines. There are certain violations that some text marketing companies have made and are now facing legal consequences for their actions. For example, text marketing users that fail to mention: “Msg&Data Rates May Apply” in its marketing materials may be in violation of the CTIA rules. Other violations that many text marketing companies and text marketing users make include not displaying prominent links to privacy policies, not displaying the opt-out instructions so message recipients have the chance to opt out of the text marketing campaign and not displaying message frequency information (how often you will receive messages).
There are many of these guidelines that text marketers must use in order to stay compliant. Failure to follow these legal rulings might result in fines needing to be paid, legal consequences and even your business getting shut down depending on the level of violation that is made. In order to fall into the good graces of the SMS short code auditing procedures, it is important to always follow the rules and guidelines set forth by the CTIA as well as the MMA. If you ever have any questions about these rules, it is important to talk to your text marketing provider to ensure they are following all of the rules as well. The text marketing providers that offer quality service and follow the laws and rules from the CTIA will include this information in their Terms and Conditions Policy that every new customer must read and agree to before they sign up for the text marketing service. If you are unsure if your text marketing company is following these rules, check out the Terms and Conditions to find out. If they are not following the CTIA rules, which are meant to protect both the text marketing provider, the marketer themselves as well as the message recipients, you should consider switching your SMS marketing provider immediately so you don’t risk getting caught up in illegal practices or violations.
The best text marketing providers will adhere to these SMS short code auditing rules and will ensure their customers follow the rules as well or risk having their own text marketing campaign suspended. Spam techniques and failure to follow the CTIA rules will result in the text marketer getting shut down because good text marketing companies will monitor their customer’s text marketing practices. In order to avoid failure during SMS short code auditing practices, simply follow the rules. While some of the rules and laws regarding text marketing and even phone sales might seem restricting, they are required to be followed as per the CTIA regulations.
If you have any questions regarding these rules, be sure and speak with your text marketing provider to determine if you are following all of the rules correctly. Be sure and find a text marketing provider that is also open and honest about the fair MMA guidelines. Refer to your terms and conditions policy that you agreed to as soon as you signed up with the service initially. This will be a helpful tool to ensure you are following all of the SMS short code auditing procedures and rules.