A bill is now being pushed in Congress, aiming to impose fines against telecommunications companies who send spam messages to mobile phone subscribers.
The telecommunications companies would each pay fines up to P200,000 or have their franchises revoked if they send unwanted spam text messages to the mobile phones of their subscribers, according to a measure pushed in Congress.
Quezon City District Congressman Winnie Castelo has filed a bill at the house of Representatives in the quest to stop the telecommunication firms from sending spam messages, which he described as “obtrusive”.
According to Cong. Castelo, under the Mobile Phone User’s Freedom Act, the regulatory powers of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to effectively ban unwanted messages and hold the telecommunication companies or service providers involved answerable for any violation on its provisions.
He said that all these messages from the telcos carry unabated commercial offerings, promotions, advertisements and surveys in the form of spam.
The lawmaker said: “The vicious and unregulated bombardment of such messages gets in the way of the free, open, clean and supposedly unobtrusive personal and private use of mobile phones in ways that please, satisfy and supply the needs of subscribers and the costs they paid in their chosen post-paid or pre-paid plans”.
“It is never incumbent upon any nefarious source to stand in the way of this freedom of communication when, without consent or at least the consent of the receiver, any mobile phone owner or subscriber, just receives any text or any messages from known or unknown source unless with due permission or upon the demand of the receiver from the sender of such spam”, Castelo added.
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