When you’re researching the legal side of SMS marketing, many different acronyms are used. But don’t worry—we’re here to simplify it! The heart of SMS legality can be summed up by a single basic principle: you must have obtained EXPLICIT consent before you send any text messages to customers. We have written about this in more detail here.
To get you started and to save you some research, this is an overview of the terms you might come across:
KEY TERMS
- ASA: Advertising Standards Authority – ASA is the UK’s advertising regulator. They take complaints and offer codes and rules for those who are advertising their business.
- CMA: Competition and Markets Authority – A UK regulator ensuring fair competition and consumer protection. They look out for businesses involving misleading or unfair trading practices under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
- DOUBLE OPT-IN: When obtaining consent, you require customers to first, opt-in to receive messages, and then double confirm through a confirmation message. This is best practice for obtaining consent, though it isn’t a strict legal requirement.
- DPA: Data Protection Act (2018) – The UK’s data protection regulation states that businesses must obtain explicit consent before sending texts of any kind.
- DND: Do Not Disturb – You must not send SMS messages during quiet hours or to anyone who has opted out.
- EDBP: European Data Protection Board – Adopts guidelines for complying with the requirements of UK GDPR. The board is made up of representatives from the data protection authorities of each EU member state.
- GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation – This refers to the UK laws around how personal data is obtained, stored, and used. In the case of telemarketing, it refers to phone numbers, birthdays, locations, and names.
- ICO: Information Commissioner’s Office – The ICO is an independent UK authority that regulates data protection. They may step in and assess your business if they feel that GDPR laws have been breached.
- INFORMED CONSENT: The principle that, when ticking the box to say they consent to receive marketing, people must have all the information they will need to make that decision properly. This means you don’t hold back certain information, such as how their data will be used.
- PECR: Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations – PECR sit alongside the DPA and UK GDPR. They ensure specific rules are in place relating to marketing calls, emails, texts, and faxes, as well as web cookies and other communications.
- SUPPRESSION LIST: A list of those people who have opted out of direct marketing.
- TCPA: Telephone Consumer Protection Act – Referring to phone calls, texts, and all forms of telecommunication, TCPA laws restrict marketing communications so as to avoid harassment of customers. This is based on US Federal law, so only applicable if you are sending SMS across seas.
- TPS: Telephone Preference Service and CTPS: Corporate Telephone Preference Service – In the UK, this is a registry where people and businesses can opt out of telemarketing receipts. It’s illegal to send marketing texts or calls to numbers registered on the TPS (individuals) or CTPS (businesses unless they give prior consent. You can sign up with the TPS Screening Service or use an approved TPS screening provider to check. You must check this regularly to stay up-to-date.
This glossary is a starting point for understanding all the legal acronyms that you might find when researching telemarketing.
The main term—which all of these relate to—is ‘consent’. For more information about what it means for customers to consent to receive telemarketing and how to obtain that consent, please visit 11. Legal Compliance with SMS: an overview.
