What a difference five years can make.
Who knew five years ago we’d have legislation that controls what messages come into our e-mail boxes. Five years ago, e-mail was just beginning to become the de facto business tool, and we were all still actually opening most of the Nigerian business opportunities, jokes and urban legends that landed in our e-mail in-boxes.
Then the Can Spam Act arrived. Unfortunately, it hasn’t stopped spam from coming my way. Some industry watchers say it’s actually legalized spam. As long as a sender includes a few set guidelines in an e-mail-no matter if the e-mail is selling the latest version of Viagra-he can legally send it.
Lawmakers decided they would be ahead of the game if they added wireless to the Can Spam Act because spam was sure to hit cell phones in the near future. So earlier this month, the law was extended to wireless messaging. As of March 9, e-mailers can’t send commercial messages to wireless messaging domains identified by wireless carriers-think messaging.nextel.com and vtext.com-without “express prior authorization.”
But as one example of how the new law could complicate things for wireless carriers, the cingular.com domain is listed on the FCC Web site as a domain that’s off limits under the new wireless portion of the law. Therefore, all cingular.com addresses are affected, which makes for a long list.
The new law has hit home at RCRNews.com. We send daily mobile alerts. Our e-mail provider says we can’t send to anyone on the FCC’s wireless domains list. Our alert lists have obviously taken a hit.
Never mind that we cover the wireless industry, so the majority of our domains are wireless companies. Never mind that our readers have opted in for these alerts and have specified whether they want them to come to their desktops or mobile devices. Never mind that we’re not sending commercial messages, we’re sending news. Our e-mail provider understands our situation and is considering reinstating the addresses, but the process has been tedious, and it’s not over yet.
Other than a couple of promotional and informational e-mails from my wireless carrier, I have received only one spam message via text messaging. I don’t think wireless spam is a problem. Sure, it could be some day, but it isn’t right now. The new law will definitely hit wireless carriers. Think of all that lost messaging revenue. Beyond the potential lost revenue, the law affects wireless carriers’ own service and feature promotions.
Can Spam has its place; I’m sure it has put a few hard-core spammers out of business. But its benefits to the wireless industry, at least in the near term, are few and far between.
