Telcos told: No spam texts to subscribers

MANILA, Philippines – Telecommunication firms would each be fined P200,000 or have their franchises revoked if they send unwanted spam text messages to the mobile phones of their subscribers.

This is the gist of the bill that Quezon City Rep. Winnie Castelo has filed at the House of Representatives to stop the “obtrusive” messages of telecommunication companies.

The Mobile Phone User’s Freedom Act would broaden the regulatory powers of the National Telecommunications Commission to effectively ban unwanted messages and make the telecommunication companies or service providers involved liable for any violation on its provisions.

Castelo said all these messages carry unabated commercial offerings, promotions, advertisements and surveys in the form of spam.

“The vicious and unregulated bombardment of such messages gets in the way of the free, open, clean and supposedly unobtrusive personal and private use of mobile phones in ways that please, satisfy and supply the needs of subscribers and the costs they paid in their chosen post-paid or pre-paid plans,” he said.

“It is never incumbent upon any nefarious source to stand in the way of this freedom of communication when, without consent or at least the consent of the receiver, any mobile phone owner or subscriber, just receives any text or any messages from known or unknown source unless with due permission or upon the demand of the receiver from the sender of such spam.”