Texting platforms?

[Bernadine]

My central committee is trying to put together a quick text campaign to remind voters to turn in their mail-in ballots. Anyone have experience with texting platforms? Any to recommend/stay away from?

[thedutchgirl]

Laws around texting are complicated and expensive. Please talk to a lawyer or do a little research about the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) before sending texts through a platform. You could be subject to a penalty of $500 to $1500 per text message if you do it wrong (like texting phone numbers that people haven’t given you consent to text)

[jinkies]

Nov 2, 2022 20:30:48 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

Laws around texting are complicated and expensive. Please talk to a lawyer or do a little research about the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) before sending texts through a platform. You could be subject to a penalty of $500 to $1500 per text message if you do it wrong (like texting phone numbers that people haven’t given you consent to text)

Wait, really? How would someone go about reporting unauthorized texts? I posted on ML that I have been getting a stupid number of texts to vote for DeSantis despite the fact that I'm a registered D living in PA. I am annoyed enough to put in the effort to get them fined.

[thedutchgirl]

Nov 2, 2022 20:36:42 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Nov 2, 2022 20:30:48 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

Laws around texting are complicated and expensive. Please talk to a lawyer or do a little research about the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) before sending texts through a platform. You could be subject to a penalty of $500 to $1500 per text message if you do it wrong (like texting phone numbers that people haven’t given you consent to text)

Wait, really? How would someone go about reporting unauthorized texts? I posted on ML that I have been getting a stupid number of texts to vote for DeSantis despite the fact that I'm a registered D living in PA. I am annoyed enough to put in the effort to get them fined.

Yes, really! Especially if it’s coming out of Florida, as there’s a state law governing in Florida too

You can contact a private lawyer and sue. Morgan & Morgan is a popular firm in Florida for the lawsuits and I bet they’d love to sue DeSantis’s campaign. You also could report to the FCC. That won’t guarantee a penalty but it may actually get then to stop

Have you replied STOP? That should work. If it isn’t, a lawyer would love to know

[jinkies]

Thanks! I do reply stop but they have used at least 6 different numbers just in the past week.

[thedutchgirl]

Nov 2, 2022 21:00:14 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Thanks! I do reply stop but they have used at least 6 different numbers just in the past week.

Ugh, so frustrating. I hate campaigns that do that

[spindle92]

Nov 3, 2022 11:10:10 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

Nov 2, 2022 21:00:14 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Thanks! I do reply stop but they have used at least 6 different numbers just in the past week.

Ugh, so frustrating. I hate campaigns that do that

I think you are MN and I'm curious, do we have laws here about it too because I'm getting an insane amount too.

[thedutchgirl]

Nov 3, 2022 11:48:17 GMT -5 spindle92 said:

Nov 3, 2022 11:10:10 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

Ugh, so frustrating. I hate campaigns that do that

I think you are MN and I'm curious, do we have laws here about it too because I'm getting an insane amount too.

I am in MN. We don't have the same kind of law as Florida, unfortunately. The federal law--TCPA--may help. Depending on how the texts are sent, it may not fall under the TCPA. (Sometimes campaigns have volunteers send from their personal cell phones, which doesn't fall under the law.) The best thing is respond STOP, and also report to the FCC

[spindle92]

Nov 3, 2022 12:06:03 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

Nov 3, 2022 11:48:17 GMT -5 spindle92 said:

I think you are MN and I'm curious, do we have laws here about it too because I'm getting an insane amount too.

I am in MN. We don't have the same kind of law as Florida, unfortunately. The federal law--TCPA--may help. Depending on how the texts are sent, it may not fall under the TCPA. (Sometimes campaigns have volunteers send from their personal cell phones, which doesn't fall under the law.) The best thing is respond STOP, and also report to the FCC

Thank you so much for this info!

[thedutchgirl]

Nov 3, 2022 12:11:55 GMT -5 spindle92 said:

Nov 3, 2022 12:06:03 GMT -5 thedutchgirl said:

I am in MN. We don't have the same kind of law as Florida, unfortunately. The federal law--TCPA--may help. Depending on how the texts are sent, it may not fall under the TCPA. (Sometimes campaigns have volunteers send from their personal cell phones, which doesn't fall under the law.) The best thing is respond STOP, and also report to the FCC

Thank you so much for this info!

I am getting them too, and they are awful. As part of what makes it extra awful, most are addressed to my XH's name, because he used to forget his own cell phone number and instead give mine as a contact number. (Seriously)

[spindle92]

thedutchgirl, good lord - men are idiots sometimes!

[thedutchgirl]

Nov 3, 2022 12:17:03 GMT -5 spindle92 said:

thedutchgirl , good lord - men are idiots sometimes!

Haha, that is particularly true in this instance!