Nokia just got slapped with a $57,000 fine for spam texting Australian customers.
The world’s largest maker of mobile phones agreed to the payment after being investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), according to a statement on the government entity’s website. The ACMA is responsible for regulating Australia’s Spam Act, which makes it illegal to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages, including mobile texts.
The way this whole thing began was from customer complaints, stating that the Finnish-company sent unwanted “tips” messages that didn’t explain how to unsubscribe from them. The ACMA wasn’t too fond of this as evident from the statement issued by the Authority’s chairman.
“Some businesses are still not getting SMS marketing right,” ACMA Acting Chairman Richard Bean said in the statement. “The same rules apply for SMS marketing as for e- mail marketing and the same rules apply to all businesses, big and small.”
This is something that has been going on forever when it comes to emails, but as the mobile market grows expect spam to focus on your smartphones, as people lean on their handheld devices more today. Honestly, carriers give your information away to company’s like Nokia all the time, turning a quick profit on your privacy.
[via Businessweek, image]
