Fines Over SMS Spam

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has fined two companies a total of US$10,000 (AU$13,200) for breaches of the Spam Act 2003. ACMA found the companies sent out more than fifty thousand commercial SMS messages marketing an investment scheme for software providing horse racing tips.

Global Racing Group Pty Ltd, based in Queensland, has been issued with infringement notices for penalties of US$8,370 by ACMA for sending unsolicited commercial SMS messages in breach of the Spam Act. ACMA found the company arranged for the messages to be sent in a series of campaigns targeting Australian mobile numbers between June and December 2004.

A second company, Australian SMS Pty Ltd, has been fined US$1,674 by ACMA for breaching the Spam Act and has given ACMA an enforceable undertaking to abide by the Spam Act and the Australian eMarketing industry code of practice. Australian SMS is a specialist SMS messaging company, also Queensland based, and was contracted by Global Racing Group to send out the messages.

The ACMA action follows complaints from the public.

"SMS spam is not exempt from the provisions of the Spam Act and is often perceived as more intrusive than email spam," said Lyn Maddock, Acting ACMA Chair.

Ms Maddock said the involvement of a third party located offshore was not a way in which the provisions of the Act could be circumvented.

"The overseas operator was engaged by Australian SMS to physically send the messages," she said. "However, even though the actual sending of the messages occurred outside Australia, the 'Australian link' provision of the Act still applied because companies centrally managed in Australia authorised the messages to be sent and the messages were received in Australia."

Ms Maddock added that Global Racing Group had advised ACMA that it had stopped sending SMS advertising. Australian SMS had also stopped sending messages for Global Racing Group and had overhauled its practices to comply with the Spam Act.

"For Australian SMS, overhauling its practices includes requiring many of its customers to ensure that they are complying with the Spam Act," Ms Maddock added."

Posted to the site on 19th August 2005