The FCC formally regulates marketing that occurs via telephones, including SMS. The relevant legal materials regarding SMS include the TCPA and CTIA. The former is law, while the latter is an industry association providing guidelines.
MetaLocator's SMS Locator Service is an "autoresponder". This class of SMS text message automation is thankfully the least regulated of the various types of SMS marketing under the TCPA. To be an autoresponder the SMS must be:
A one-time message sent to a customer in response to a specific request.
Include only the requested information
It must be requested directly by the customer, not a third party
Marketing Materials
The program's marketing materials must include the following:
A clear call to action: E.g. "Text your postal code to 12345"
A clear description. E.g. "Find the nearest locations to your postal code"
The phrase "Message and data rates may apply"
A link to your terms and conditions and privacy policy.
SMS Dialog
The autoresponder message itself must identify your company by name in addition to the locator content. This can be easily customized in the MetaLocator control panel.
SMS Keywords
MetaLocator automatically provides support for required special keywords.
HELP: Help should contain helpful information regarding how the service is to be used. This behavior is automatically included in MetaLocator's service. This can be easily customized in the MetaLocator control panel.
STOP: Stop should automatically unsubscribe your end user and prevent additional messages to that number. This behavior is automatically included in MetaLocator's service. This can be easily customized in the MetaLocator control panel. MetaLocator also recognizes END, CANCEL, QUIT and UNSUBSCRIBE
TCPA Compliance Notice
Please note that you are solely responsible for compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including without limitation the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits automated text messages being sent to users who have not taken action to receive such messages. You may not decompile, reconfigure, or reverse-engineer MetaLocator to use it in a manner that infringes with consumer protection laws or other laws, rules or regulations. The content subject of your text message is solely of your own design and choosing, within the limits of Metalocator's Terms of Use.