The Australian Communications and Media Authority has introduced new laws allowing it to crack down on SMS scams.
Consumers will not be billed for premium SMS and MMS services from suspect mobile premium service providers, the regulator says, and it will be labelled as an offence for mobile phone companies to contract suppliers who aren’t on a register.
From November 3, ACMA will be able to issue a temporary Do Not Bill order to stop content suppliers from charging customers while it investigates a particular service.
“This will be the toughest sanction the ACMA will be able to impose against premium SMS and MMS providers who break the rules,” ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said in a statement. “It cuts straight to the heart of industry’s rogue element by drying up their revenue stream.”
“The rules introduced by the ACMA have seen complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman about premium SMS and MMS drop by over two-thirds in the previous 12 months.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
