How to avoid spamming consumers.

Consumers have legitimate expectations about what does, and does not, constitute consent to receive political texts. Campaigns should also honor consumers’ requests to opt-out of receiving messages.

Two-thirds of consumers agreed:

Voting for a certain candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from that candidateVoting for a certain candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from that candidate
Donating to a certain candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from that candidateDonating to a certain candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from that candidate
Consenting to texts from one candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from another candidateConsenting to texts from one candidate does not mean that they consent to receive texts from another candidate

 

By giving consent to one message sender, a consumer does not expect their telephone number to be used by another message sender through sale, lease, transfer, or other sharing of recipient lists. A consumer also does not expect to give recurring consent, so message senders should not pre-check boxes or take similar steps to opt consumers into recurring messages.

Tips for Campaigns
How to get consumer consent to send political text messages.

Political message senders are expected to obtain consent before sending consumers any messages, and as part of that process they should be informing consumers about the types of texts they can expect to receive. Doing so will help ensure political messaging campaigns engage those supporters and voters who have an expectation of exchanging text messages with the campaign. This can lead to better engagement with voters and increase fundraising opportunities.

There are many ways for political message senders to solicit and obtain a voter’s consent to receive text messages. For example, as described in CTIA’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices, one of the best ways to seek consent is to invite a consumer to check a box next to language that says, “I agree to receive text messages from this campaign,” alongside a clear and conspicuous description of the campaign and the types of messages the consumer can expect to receive if they opt-in. This can be provided online, on a form, or through other mechanisms that enable message senders to document consumers’ consent as described in the Messaging Principles.

CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices

Some other examples of reasonable consent mechanisms, when accompanied by appropriate consumer disclosures, include, but are not limited to:

  • Entering a telephone number through a website
  • Clicking a button on a mobile webpage
  • Sending a message from the consumer’s mobile device that contains a keyword
  • Initiating the text message exchange in which the campaign replies to the consumer only with responsive information
  • Signing up at a point-of-sale or other message-sender on-site location
  • Opting-in over the phone using interactive voice response technology

By giving consent to one message sender, a consumer does not expect their telephone number to be used by another message sender through sale, lease, transfer, or other sharing of recipient lists.

When collecting consent, message senders should display clear and conspicuous disclosures (known as “calls to action”) about the type and purpose of the messaging the consumer will receive. As described in CTIA’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices, message senders should obtain proper consumer consent for each messaging campaign supported.

Resources
Additional resources for political text senders.

Political Text Messaging Explainer

The wireless industry wants to successfully facilitate text messages from political campaigns while protecting consumers from unwanted text messages. This document highlights recommendations regarding the need for informed, opt-in consent prior to messaging consumers, as well as the responsibility to facilitate and honor consumer opt-out requests, as guidelines that are relevant to all senders, including political message senders.
Read the document

CTIA Messaging Principles & Best Practices

A set of voluntary best practices developed by CTIA’s member companies throughout the wireless messaging ecosystem. These Principles and Best Practices provide guidance for non-consumer message senders to engage with consumers via text message and importantly, to protect consumers from unwanted messages.
Read the Principles & Best Practices

Blog: Keeping Consumers Spam Free During Election Season

Provides guidance for political campaigns on communicating with constituents and shares results of a Morning Consult survey of Americans across the political spectrum, finding 90% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans believe that political campaigns should be required to get consent before sending consumers messages.
Read the blog

Blog: Protecting Consumers from Spam Texts

Discusses how messaging is a great way to reach any audience, including potential voters, but this isn’t by accident. The wireless community, which includes providers, aggregators, cloud services, security vendors, registrars, and other partners, works hard every day to keep the text environment spam-free, and political campaigns should use the platform responsibly.
Read the blog

CTIA Position: Messaging

Highlights the wireless industry’s commitment to protecting consumers and the text messaging platform so that texting remains a trusted communications medium for all.
Read more