Car sales website fined for SMS spamming
Australian Communications Authority takes action
A popular Australian car sales website has been fined AU$6,600 for sending SMS spam.
Classified car sales website Carsales.com.au had been sending SMS messages
promoting its services to members of the public whose phone numbers it harvested from classified advertisements
in newspapers and magazines.
The privacy policy of Carsales.com.au states: 'We send messages to mobile phone numbers that are copied from classified advertisements
which were most likely published in newspapers or magazines.'
However, the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), which took action after having received a number
of complaints about Carsales.com.au's practices, pointed out that
the Australian Spam Act is an 'opt-in law' and that publishing one's mobile phone
number as part of a classified advertisement in a newspaper or magazine cannot be construed as consenting to
receiving unsolicited messages.
The company was handed a AU$6,600 fine for failing to comply with the Spam Act.
05 April 2005
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