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Low-cost SMS, a prohibited practice that does not comply with the GDPR
The Mobile Marketing Association France already condemned this practice in 2004, followed years later by the General Rules for the Protection of Personal Data. Other decisions followed, gradually laying the groundwork for a ban on the use of low-cost SMS.
These texts give new powers to telecom operators and now allow the Authorities to punish the suppliers and users concerned. One goal, to protect the secrecy of the communications and information entrusted to you.
What is low-cost SMS?
SMS may sometimes seem like a simple product, but there are various variants on the market, with varying degrees of reliability. It is important for us, as a trusted provider, to help our customers make an informed choice between the different offers available to them.
The low-cost SMS has long been praised for its low routing costs. Decried but still used, this ambiguity still makes the good days of some providers.
The low-cost message certainly makes it possible to send messages at unbeatable rates, but it does not fulfil the legal obligations dictated by the RGPD in the context of respect for the protection of personal data.
A service without guarantees, unprotected data
The low-cost SMS certainly makes it possible to send messages at a very reduced rate but it does not fulfil the legal obligations within the framework of the sending of a commercial message or even today, the conditions imposed by the General Regulation of Personal Data Protection. Characteristics of which you should be aware.
The actions taken by operators to block this "illegal" traffic and the first legal sanctions against users of these products mean that the service has no guarantee of continuity or performance .
SMS marketing, which originally used these routes, has almost totally abandoned them. Too often victims of blocking by operators, threatening the performance of campaigns . Moreover, as SMS is managed in the most illegal way, it is difficult to protect something that is illegal . This data is not deleted or encrypted. It is sensitive, however, which is why the law is being tightened so that user data is only entrusted to reliable operators, capable of protecting the content of a company towards its customers.
What does the law say?
The GDPR came into force on 25 May 2018. This text, which protects personal data, reinforces the responsibility of companies processing sensitive data. A decision of July 2018 confirms this position.
You probably already suspected this before reaching this last paragraph. The low-cost SMS is not compatible with the General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data collected from the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés) . As a reminder, the GDPR gives the supervisory authorities the power toimpose substantial fines on offenders (up to 20 million euros or 4% of your annual turnover).
Using an illegal product cannot allow you to declare yourself compliant with the principles of the GDPR .
The platform smsmode platform only provides live operator connections, without ever compromising on quality . All personal data entrusted to us is stored and encrypted in France, then deleted from our servers as quickly as possible. We have the pleasure of supporting numerous companies in the healthcare and banking sectors. These references are proof of our reliability in the management of "sensitive" data.
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