This "double eleven", can consumers stay away from marketing SMS bombardment?

Source: Zhonggong Net - Workers Daily

Original title: This "double eleven", can consumers stay away from marketing SMS bombardment?

Mao Jianguo

According to the China News Agency reported on October 28, the Information and Communications Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently held an administrative guidance meeting, requiring e-commerce platforms to immediately and comprehensively self-examine and self-correct the SMS marketing behavior of retail, finance and other related products, and not to send marketing SMS without consumer consent or request. A few days ago, the China Consumer Association also issued a document urging business operators to implement the relevant provisions of the Personal Information Protection Law, improve the rules for handling personal information in accordance with the law, perform the obligation of publicity and notification, standardize the procedures for handling personal information, and take necessary measures to ensure the security of consumers' personal information.

There is a great meaning behind this "voice in unison", one is that on November 1, 2021, the Personal Information Protection Law has been officially implemented; the other is that this year's "Double Eleven" has been warmed up and turned on, and the problem of spam SMS may be particularly serious during this period.

Although relevant parties and relevant laws and regulations have regulated spam SMS, the effect is not satisfactory. For example, the Civil Code stipulates that "unless otherwise provided by law or with the explicit consent of the right holder, no organization or individual shall harass the tranquility of others' private lives by means of telephones, text messages, instant messaging tools, e-mails, leaflets, etc."; the Provisions on the Administration of Short Message Services for Communications point out that "short message service providers and short message content providers shall not send commercial short messages to users without their consent or request". However, in reality, as pointed out by the Information and Communication Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in recent years, the proportion of spam SMS complaints during the "Double Eleven" promotion period has reached 90%.

"Don't send marketing text messages without permission" has been emphasized over and over again, but many people will still be bombarded with spam text messages, which has a lot to do with the low cost of illegal behavior. According to the relevant laws and regulations, similar behaviors can be warned and a certain fine can be imposed, but there are not many merchants who are really punished for this.

In recent years, relevant departments have organized and carried out special actions for the control of spam SMS for many times. As of the first quarter of this year, the number of spam SMS user complaints nationwide fell to the lowest level in the past three years. But while seeing the results and effects, we must also face up to the absolute amount of spam text messages is still very amazing. This affects not only the consumer's sense of experience, but also the credibility of the relevant departments.

To curb spam SMS, we must adhere to the whole chain thinking, from the source to the end of each link must assume responsibility, especially to emphasize the responsibility of the platform. At present, some platforms "agree" to directly send promotional information by default registered users, and businesses use platform rule loopholes to send marketing SMS. The "rule loophole" here is worth playing, its existence may be "unintentional willow insertion", or it may be "intentional planting", because the business will transform the advertising effect into brand benefits and economic benefits at the same time, the platform can also harvest activity and related benefits.

At present, platforms and merchants must face a problem: how to understand business ethics and how to promote their own healthier and orderly progress. When a new model first appears, there is often a phenomenon of barbaric growth, but this is not taken for granted, and the relevant parties cannot take advantage of social tolerance and treat the market as an unfettered, wild savannah. Today, the platform economy has already passed the stage of ignorance, if there is still intentional or unintentional creation, legacy and use of some rule loopholes, playing "small calculations", it is likely to "lift a stone and drop your own feet".

This "double eleven", people are bombarded by various business text messages will change? Mobile phones are there, the regulations are also there, the personal information protection law has begun to be implemented, people expect that platforms and businesses can judge the situation, from the good as the flow, respect the consumer's right to tranquility, change their own marketing methods, with genuine services and goods to win word of mouth, accumulate popularity, but also let the "double eleven" more pure and beautiful.

Editor-in-charge: Xiao Tian