Optus Fined for Breaching Australian Anti-Spam Laws

Australian mobile operator, Optus has been fined AU$110,000 (US$74,000) by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for breaches of the country's anti-spam legislation. The infringement notices were in relation to 20,000 commercial electronic messages sent by Optus that ACMA alleges failed to provide clear and accurate sender identification.

The messages promoted the OptusZoo entertainment service to Optus customer mobile phones with the sender identification ‘966'.

"Optus assumed that recipients of their messages would make the connection between '966' and 'ZOO,' " said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman. "However, this was not considered sufficient identification, as '966' could be used to represent any number of permutations on a telephone keypad. Ensuring spam compliance procedures are understood by all staff is imperative for all businesses if they want to avoid the risk of costly fines."

ACMA and Optus had commenced discussions in relation to the offer of an enforceable undertaking by Optus in order to resolve this matter. However, consensus could not be reached on the terms of such an undertaking.

"Accordingly, ACMA decided to proceed with issuing the infringement notices," Mr Chapman said. "Undertakings can provide an excellent opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their commitment to compliance. However, as in this example, ACMA will use its stronger enforcement powers where the undertakings offered are not considered an adequate response to the compliance issues raised."

Optus has paid the amounts specified in the infringement notices and has advised that new compliance measures have been implemented that will ensure accurate sender identification is included in all commercial electronic messages.

The AMCA said that this is the second highest fine it has ever imposed for breaching the Spam Act 2003.

Posted to the site on 14th January 2009