Some interesting news out of Malaysia today, where government officials discussed the possibility of banning contests over SMS due to the fact they contain “elements of cheating.”

More specifically, the Malaysian government sees SMS contests as a form of gambling where “people end up as losers and the organizers rake in huge profits,” stated Deputy Minister T. Murugiah during a meeting today with so-called SMS contest victims.  ”I have received many complaints from many people who have fallen prey to these scams.”

Even winners have filed complaints with the Malaysian Public Complaint Bureau, headed up by Murugiah.  ”Winners of SMS contests are short changed,” he added.  ”They’re duped into paying more than the value of the prizes they won in the first place.”

Obviously there’s more to the story.  The article released was done so by the country’s own “Bernama,” which is the governments internally-ran “national news agency.”  If such scammy and obviously anti-regulatory contests were being permitted in the first place, it’s no wonder consumers are filing complaints.  Looks to me like a lack of regulation and oversight is to blame for allowing something like this to happen in the fist place.

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There’s been numerous studies, surveys and analysis regarding consumer’s view of SMS marketing and how they respond to messages from advertisers, with most coming to the conclusion that SMS marketing is always welcomed by consumers as long as its worth their while.

A new study put out by the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) polled consumers regarding their view of SMS marketing and found that users request much more control, as well as a sense of trust from the brands that are reaching out to them.  These so-called unwritten rules of acceptable engagement via mobile was what the DMA was interested in analyzing.

Gaining a sense of control over what messages are being sent to them, and the overall integrity and trust shown by the brands are the underlying aspects consumers request, with over half of respondents feeling that companies didn’t make the opt-in process clear enough, for example.  In addition, two-thirds of respondents wanted to choose the time of day they received mobile marketing messages, while the majority of respondents didn’t even know who had contacted them.

What consumers worry about the most with regards to SMS marketing is the underlying threat of SMS spam and the mis-conceptions surrounding the practice.  While only one-third of respondents believe that they are increasingly receiving more spam, the report reveals that people are confused about the financial cost of spam. One-third of respondents believe that simply receiving a spam message will result in a charge to their mobile bill, while the same number believe that opening a spam message results in charges.

Read the rest

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Smartphone apps are getting more and more comprehensive everyday it seems, and with the advent of location-based services, mobile social networking and other genres, privacy is becoming increasingly important.

There’s been a recent surge of developers and consumers that have noticed what some apps are doing behind the scenes in terms of gathering user information- and it’s raising concerns for those who value their privacy.  A programmer recently discovered, for example, that Pre’s smartphone OS was sending users’ GPS information back to Palm, even though the company’s privacy policy revealed as much.

In addition, ReadWriteWeb is reporting that mobile analytics company Pinch Media allows developers to insert code into applications in order to create a user profile.  The information is designed to help developers, although some consider the technique invasive.  If the user profile is used with good intentions to help the app in what ever it’s supposed to accomplish, then so be it, but when that user information is used for other purposes without the user’s consent, it creates a big problem.

The regulations associated with this sort of thing are very ambiguous- app developers submitting to Apple’s App store, for example, aren’t required to reveal what types of data they’re tracking.  Also, when users consent to have their location revealed, app developers don’t necessarily have to disclose what additional data they’re tracking.

Until regulation is put in place, the only defense is to go over every single line of your TOS and privacy policy associated with any new app you think will collect sensitive user information- since almost nobody will do such a thing, we’re still at the mercy of the app developers.

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At the Black Hat Security Conference that’s taking place today in Las Vegas, two security researchers are set to present on several SMS vulnerabilities that have been identified that could affect several major mobile operating systems- including Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

Using some sophisticated software and technical know-how, researchers are using what’s called the “Sully Fuzzing Framework” to point out any and all potential flaws and security loopholes present in various scenarios.  ”Fuzzing” is a form of automated software testing that involves entering random or unexpected data.  Crashes or unexpected behavior arising from such input can then be analyzed as a potential vulnerability.

More simply, the two researchers created a layer, called the “injector,” just above the bottom of the telephony stack that performs a “man-in-the-middle attack,” so to speak, by intercepting communication between a mobile device’s modem and multiplexer.  By doing so, the pair found several SMS flaws on both Android and iPhone platforms, with Windows Mobile still being analyzed.

In iPhone OS 2.2 and 2.2.1, they were able to crash the iPhone’s SpringBoard window management application and the iPhone’s CommCenter, which manages iPhone connectivity- the heart of network connection for the iPhone, meaning vulnerabilities could be a serious problem.

This news comes on the heels of a report that Symbian-powered smartphones are likely to be infected with malware and spyware and doesn’t speak well of the security surrounding the devices that almost everyone in the world is carrying around with them at all times.  It shows that, just like with computers, we should never keep our guard down from attacks of all kinds.  Hopefully, patches and fixes can be introduced now that the vulnerabilities have been recognized, but that only means new loopholes and attacks will be along shortly.

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Earlier this week, Justin told us about the potential $90 million ruling against Simon & Schuster for sending unsolicited text messages promoting the Steven King novel Cell (which itself, ironically, is about the really, really dark side of SMS). The court decreed that the publisher violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because messages were sent through an automatic telephone dialing system. Now, legitimate mobile marketing service providers are stepping up to protect their industry–and to protect the integrity of a communication platform with which consumers really do want to be reached.

The company Ez Texting is spearheading lobbying efforts to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, to protect mobile marketing technology companies from being sued due to the misuse of their services. It has begun an organization called the Mobile Advocacy Coalition, whose website, www.mobileac.org, includes information on how other mobile tech providers can become involved.

Ez Texting’s Shane Neman tells me: “Fax broadcasters and the [cellular] carriers have specific exemptions by the FCC as they are considered to be ‘mere conduits.’ However, SMS aggregators, providers, and software developers do not. We too are merely the technology providers, and yet still can be liable under the law because no specific exemption is exists for us.” Read the rest

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The government of Norway has stepped in to put a stop to many SMS plans that charge consumers an on-going premium after they purchase certain things such as ringtones and minor applications for their devices.  Through a crack-down on the industry and the people who regulate it, SMS content providers will be forced to be upfront with consumers about the cost of “on-going messaging plans” from here on out.  If all goes well, other countries, including the US and many European countries, will adopt the same regulation

Hoping to make the entire industry more transparent, the government is forcing providers to come clean about their subscription plans and advertising, as well as allow consumers to bar ongoing services from July 1, 2010.  Beyond that, new regulation will force consumers to verify their acceptance of certain plans twice under a new “double opt-in” policy that will soon take effect.

In Norway, the testing ground for the new policies, the Mobile Premium Services code, jointly created by government and the industry body the Communications Alliance, will require all premium SMS operators to register on a list, and could see repeat offenders fined up to A$250,000 (US$188,718) in the Federal Court.  Having a central registry of operators will make tracking and punishing offenders of the policies much easier and more effective than it has been in the past.  In addition, providers will be banned from dealing with operators not registered on the industry list.

This new code and subsequent policies will be reviewed for a 12-month period to see how everything plays out.  These kind of deceptive practices are ruining legitimate SMS marketing tactics and bringing bad light, one again, to SMS as an advertising medium that in reality is a huge asset to mobile marketing as a whole.

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Today two U.S. senators introduced legislation aimed at curbing unwanted text messages.

Called the “m-SPAM Act of 2009,” the potential law, introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), brings government intervention into the realm of mobile spam. Named similarly to the CAN-SPAM law that criminalizes email spammers, it’s especially important because–unlike email–text messages cost money to receive, as part of a data plan or on a message-by-message basis. “Mobile spam invades both a consumer’s cell phone and monthly bill,” Senator Snowe said.

While no one can object to the central idea of the proposed law–to prohibit marketers from sending messages to a “do not contact” type of registry–I hope the Senate treads carefully. Right now, the potential legislation suggests that every number on the Do Not Call registry also be off-limits to SMS senders.

This is not a good idea, because while nobody ever signs up to receive marketing phone calls, many consumers do sign up to receive SMS offers like coupons or sales announcements. By automatically making numbers on the Do Not Call List forbidden from marketers, consumers could be prevented from receiving the texts they actually want. Read the rest

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