# CON-134 — SMS consent needs its own control and its own sentence

> Messaging consent must not share a control or a sentence with email or phone-call consent.

- **Rule ID:** CON-134
- **Layer:** Consent flow (`CONSENT_FLOW`)
- **Checks:** `opt-in surface control set; consent disclosure text`
- **Severity:** BLOCKING — Breaking this rule gets the submission rejected outright.
- **When it bites:** Gates approval — get this wrong and registration is refused
- **How it is detected:** AI judgement over the crawled website or policy page
- **Fix type:** Fix the website — no form edit clears it
- **Required by:** Telnyx, Twilio, TextUs, Infobip, Bird, Sakari, Klaviyo
- **Applies:** Applies when consent was collected by web form, checkout, account settings, third party and point of sale.
- **Canonical URL:** https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/consent-flow/con-134/

## Why this rule exists

One box reading "yes, contact me by email and text" produces a record that cannot show which channel the consumer wanted, and the honest answer is usually email — that is the one they were thinking about. Klaviyo warns against collecting both on one surface for the same reason: the combined control converts better precisely because it captures people who did not decide.

## How to fix it

Split into two controls with two sentences: one for email, one for text. The SMS sentence carries the SMS disclosures; the email one does not need them. Done when a consumer can take the newsletter and decline the texts in one submission.

## Example of a compliant value

```text
☐ Email me Acme Coffee news.
☐ Text me Acme Coffee offers. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help.
```

## Common mistakes

- Two checkboxes sharing one sentence above them is the same defect with extra steps — each control needs wording of its own that names its channel.

## Notes

Distinct from CON-BOX-BUNDLED, which is about bundling with terms acceptance. Here both halves are genuine consents and the defect is that they are one act. WEB-100 states the same rule for a QR landing page, and CON-133 the wording half.