The Communications watchdog has given Nokia a slap on the wrist over its dodgy SMS campaign.
 Click to enlarge |
An investigation by the Oz
Communications Authority was instigated after Nokia users were unable to
‘unsubscribe’ to texts the giant sent to mobiles.
The worlds largest
phone maker had given user ‘tips’ on how to unsubscribe but complained were
still unable to do so.
The messages did not include company contact
details, as required by the Spam Act 2003, the Australian Communication and
Media Authority (ACMA) said today.
The investigation found that while a
number of the ‘tips’ provided customers with factual information about their
mobile, others amounted to promotion of Nokia’s products including mobile phone
accessories, meaning such messages were required by Australian law to include an
‘unsubscribe’ facility.
Nokia has now undertaken to pursue ‘enforceable’
correctional measures, including the appointment of an independent consultant to
audit its systems and carry out the recommendations, train its employees engaged
in SMS marketing about complying with the Spam Act.
The Finnish phone
giant is also to cough up $55,000 to ACMA.
“SMS allows businesses to
reach their customers no matter where they are or what they are doing,” said
ACMA Acting Chairman, Richard Bean.
“But with that opportunity come
responsibilities under the Spam Act, including the obligation to include an
unsubscribe facility in marketing messages.”
the public about SMS messages believed to be spam during 2010-11,
“Some
businesses are still not getting SMS marketing right. The same rules apply to
SMS marketing as for email marketing, and the same rules apply to all
businesses, big and small,” Bean said.
If you receive an SMS message that
you think may not comply with the Spam Act, report it to the ACMA’s Spam SMS
service by forwarding the message to 0429 999 888.
