Last month, the FCC proposed a new set of rules designed to combat the nuisance of robotext scams. Those rules are now official: not only will carriers be required to block messages that are likely to be illegal, but the new order also takes the first steps toward closing a loophole that allows scammers to dodge Do-Not-Call Registry protections.
Specifically, the rule targets text messages that come from numbers that are "unlikely to transmit text messages," citing unallocated, unused or invalid numbers, as well as numbers for government agencies and other "well-known entities" that don't send text messages. The order also hopes to close the "lead generator loophole," that allows companies to interpret a consumer's "consent" to a call as permission for other marketers to add them to a robocall list.