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Send SMS and MMS in the US and Canada 2: Governing bodies
Send SMS and MMS in the US and Canada 2: Governing bodies

Familiarise yourself with relevant industry organisations and their guidelines.

Laura Russell avatar
Written by Laura Russell
Updated this week

The TCPA is the federal legislation originally written in 1991 that governs telemarketing, text messaging, and the Do-Not-Call list.

Although these laws do not explicitly mention SMS, texts have been ruled to be treated as phone calls under the TCPA. These laws exist to protect people from unsolicited text messages and phone calls.


The CTIA is a trade group that represents wireless carriers and others in the telecom industry. The CTIA maintains the Messaging Principles and Best Practices which lays out additional guidelines for SMS marketing.

The CTIA guidelines align with TCPA laws to protect people from unwanted text messages, but extend further to help marketers create a better experience for consumers.


The CTA (previously CWTA) is the governing body for all text messaging programmes to protect consumers from unwanted messages. They lay out several specific different requirements for Canada short codes.


The CASL protects consumers and businesses from the misuse of digital technology, including spam and other electronic threats. It also aims to help businesses stay competitive in a global, digital marketplace.


The main carriers/Mobile network operators

US

Canada

AT&T

Rogers

T-Mobile

Bell

Verizon

Telus

US Cellular

These key USA carriers have their own guides to supplement the CTIA guide:

This list is not all inclusive and only represents the top carriers by volume in each country. Dotdigital supports all carriers in US/CAN, even if they are not listed here.

Additionally, each individual carrier network, or Mobile Network Operator (MNO) may be privately owned and operated, and as such, they reserve the right to approve, reject, question, or disable any campaign on their network. Some carriers have their own individual Code of Conduct.


See also

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