Mobile Marketing Law: The specific mobile marketing law that was violated in this case of AT&T vs. The Consumer is Mobile Cramming. “Mobile Cramming is a modern version of a long-time scam in which consumers’ phone bills are used as a vehicle for unauthorized charges placed by third parties (FTC, 2022).”
Negative Consequences: Negative consequences that have been placed upon AT&T consumers are having to pay more money as their bill is higher. Their sense of security and trust has been lost. The consumer has been put under unnecessary stress due to higher bills. All these consequences may also contribute to poor mental health due to stress.
Possible Penalties:
In the AT&T case, the Federal Trade Commission provided the company consumers with over $88 million in refunds. These refunds were sent out to more than 2.7million AT&T consumers. These AT&T consumers had third-party charges added to their bills without their consent (Mobile Cramming, 2019). This is in addition to the CAN-Spam Act that companies can be punished for sending spam emails. “Each separate email violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $43,280, so non-compliance can be costly. Following the law isn’t complicated (CAN-SPAM Act, 2020).”
Marketing Response: There are many things that a marketer can do to ensure that their marketing campaigns remain ethical. A marketer must give their consumers a choice. They can do this by allowing their consumers to opt in or out of text messages, or emails at any time. Marketers must also remain transparent. They can do this by letting their consumers know what information the marketer and or company gathers from their mobile devices. The marketer and business must consider the consumer’s data security when collecting data from their mobile devices. Consumers expect businesses to protect their information. Any breach of information security will cause the consumer to lose trust in the company.
References:
FTC. Retrieved on June 12th, 2022. Mobile Cramming. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/topics/mobile-cramming
FTC. December 8th, 2016. FTC Providing Over $88 Million in Refunds to AT&T Customers Who Were Subjected to Mobile Cramming https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2016/12/ftc-providing-over-88-million-refunds-att-customers-who-were-subjected-mobile-cramming
Roesler, P. Retrieved on June 12th, 2022. Three Legal Issues to Keep in Mind with Mobile Marketing
Comments