If putting up with email spamming wasn annoying enough, Pakistanis have also had to endure a rising incidence of SMS spamming in recent years. Thanks to cheap SMS bundles and near-ubiquitous cellular connectivity, SMS traffic has increased manifold, and with it the spamming problem.
Unsolicited and unwanted text messages are a constant source of irritation for subscribers. PTA estimates that Pakistanis sent over 175 billion text messages in CY10 (5 SMS per person a day that year). However, not all of these messages originate from ones friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances.
The problem is not just individual spammers, who promote their businesses, send obnoxious messages or spread misleading information via text messages. Tele-marketing companies are said to have become highly dependent on the breadth of geographic and demographic data that cellular connectivity has come to offer.
Spamming from cellular companies is also a major aggravator. A barrage of promotional campaigns and quizzes is fired every now and then. While these companies may be taking great care to withhold their subscribers unique identities, lists of mobile numbers - all segmented and categorized - are often sold to third-parties which include the tele-marketers who bombard their advertisement promotions through SMS.
Subscribers need to be careful while sharing their mobile numbers online, especially on social media. These numbers are picked up by commercial spammers who then send their bulk advertisements via computer programs. It is especially difficult to nail down such spammers.
The telecom watchdogs policy towards SMS spamming is reactive at best, despite calls for urgent action on this major user rights issue.
Just last week, in a notice on its webpage, PTA informed the public of its anti-spam regulations - titled Protection from Spam, Unsolicited, Fraudulent and Obnoxious Communications Regulations, 2009 - protect the Pakistani customers against unwanted messages.
"The transmission of bulk messages to any person for commercial purposes is subject to express permission of recipients. The bulk messages can only be sent by individuals and companies duly authorized by and registered in this respect with PTA", the notice reads.
The regulator acknowledges that certain unauthorized individuals and corporations are involved in sending bulk messages to customers without their permission. It warns them to refrain from such practices; otherwise legal action will be initiated as per applicable laws.
The public notice further informs the public about ways to report spammers and get those mobile numbers blocked from their operators.
This regulation focuses more on documentation of spamming and laying down the SOPs for complaints management. But this is only half-the-job-done.
While individual spammers may get penalized once they are reported and their mobile subscriptions are eventually blocked by operators, there is very little this regulation can do to tackle spamming from tele-marketing companies and or operators.
The regulator needs to mull over declaring SMS spamming a criminal offence. It is already an illegal activity, a penal crime in various countries, including the United States, Australia and the European Union. In recent years, US courts have ordered spammers to pay damages as high as $175 per spam recipient in various class action suits.
To rein in this practice, PTA should introduce penalties that are broader in scope and scale, penalties that actually bite and serve the purpose. Moreover, it must consult with the operators and work out limits on the number of SMS sent per hour, per day and on weekdays.