15 U.S.C. § 7712: Application to wireless

Summary

The Federal Communications Commission, working with the Federal Trade Commission, must write rules within 270 days to protect people from unwanted commercial messages sent to phones and other wireless devices. The rules must require clear permission before sending such messages unless the FCC decides otherwise. Everyone must be allowed to opt out electronically. If the FCC exempts mobile service providers from needing prior permission, those providers must still let subscribers opt out when they sign up and on their bills. The FCC must also set how senders comply while thinking about device limits and whether a sender can tell a message is a mobile service commercial message. These rules do not override section 227 of title 47 or rules under section 6102. A "mobile service commercial message" means a commercial electronic mail sent directly to a wireless device used by a subscriber of commercial mobile service (see section 332(d) of title 47).

Title 15, §7712

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Effect on other law

Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to preclude or override the applicability of section 227 of title 47 or the rules prescribed under section 6102 of this title.

(b)FCC rulemaking

The Federal Communications Commission, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall promulgate rules within 270 days to protect consumers from unwanted mobile service commercial messages. The Federal Communications Commission, in promulgating the rules, shall, to the extent consistent with subsection (c)—

(1)provide subscribers to commercial mobile services the ability to avoid receiving mobile service commercial messages unless the subscriber has provided express prior authorization to the sender, except as provided in paragraph (3);

(2)allow recipients of mobile service commercial messages to indicate electronically a desire not to receive future mobile service commercial messages from the sender;

(3)take into consideration, in determining whether to subject providers of commercial mobile services to paragraph (1), the relationship that exists between providers of such services and their subscribers, but if the Commission determines that such providers should not be subject to paragraph (1), the rules shall require such providers, in addition to complying with the other provisions of this chapter, to allow subscribers to indicate a desire not to receive future mobile service commercial messages from the provider—

(A)at the time of subscribing to such service; and

(B)in any billing mechanism; and

(4)determine how a sender of mobile service commercial messages may comply with the provisions of this chapter, considering the unique technical aspects, including the functional and character limitations, of devices that receive such messages.

(c)Other factors considered

The Federal Communications Commission shall consider the ability of a sender of a commercial electronic mail message to reasonably determine that the message is a mobile service commercial message.

(d)Mobile service commercial message defined

In this section, the term “mobile service commercial message” means a commercial electronic mail message that is transmitted directly to a wireless device that is utilized by a subscriber of commercial mobile service (as such term is defined in section 332(d) of title 47) in connection with such service.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(3), (4), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 108–187, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2699, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7701 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 2004, see section 16 of Pub. L. 108–187, set out as a note under section 7701 of this title.

§7712 Application to Wireless