What the Tech? Campaign Text Messages

(ABC 6 News) – Ah, the sweet silence after the election. No more relentless political robo-texts bombarding our phones! We can all agree that this is a welcome relief. But what did we learn from this onslaught of messages?

Campaign season saw an unprecedented surge in political text messages. Reports indicate that
over 700 million texts were sent daily in September alone. The Trump and Harris campaigns
were particularly active, with their messages becoming the subject of SNL skits and TikTok
trends.

But were these texts legal? The FCC regulates robo-texts similarly to robo-calls, requiring prior
consent from recipients. However, it’s clear that many of us never opted in. And while
responding “STOP” should theoretically halt the messages, it often just signals to the bots that
your number is active, leading to more texts from different numbers.

So, what’s the best approach? Simply ignore, delete, or junk these unwanted messages. You
can also report the number to your carrier.

Remember, while the election is over, robo-texts are here to stay. We can expect to see a
continued rise in these messages, with estimates suggesting over 15 billion political texts were
sent in 2022.

It’s crucial to stay informed about our rights and the laws surrounding these messages. While
we may celebrate the end of campaign texts, the battle against spam and unwanted messages
continues.

Key Takeaways:

• Political robo-texts flooded our phones during the campaign season.
• The FCC requires prior consent for such messages, but this rule is often disregarded. Do you remember ever opting in?
• Responding “STOP” may not be effective and could lead to more spam.
• The best approach is to ignore, delete, and report unwanted messages.
• Robo-texts are a persistent issue, and we need to remain vigilant.

Let’s hope for a future where our phones are used for communication, not constant
bombardment.