Text-to-join marketing still owes the written-consent elements
The requirementstatement
A marketing text-to-join CTA must carry the federal written-consent elements — the ATDS disclosure, the not-a-condition statement, and the number being authorised.
- Severityseverity
- HighHIGHRejected by at least one carrier or provider, and a common cause of failure at the rest.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- keyword CTA copy
- Where it liveslayer
- Consent flowCONSENT_FLOW
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- AI · formAI_FORM
- A semantic question about what you wrote: whether a description matches a use case, whether a name looks like a filed entity. Judged by a model against written criteria.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Produce a documentTERMINAL_ARTIFACT
- Needs a document that does not exist yet, such as a verbal script, a paper consent form, or QR landing copy. Ekas drafts it.
- Who requires itauthorities
- FCC
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies when consent was collected by text-to-join keyword, and the use case is MARKETING, MIXED, SWEEPSTAKE and LOW_VOLUME.
Why this rule existsrationale
An inbound keyword is unambiguous express consent, and that is not the same as express WRITTEN consent, which is what automated marketing requires. The gap is easy to miss precisely because the keyword feels stronger than a checkbox: the consumer actively texted you, so nobody thinks to check whether the advertisement carried the elements a form would have had to.
How to fix itremediation
Add the missing elements to the advertised copy: that the messages are automated and recurring, that consent is not a condition of purchase, and that the number texted from is the number being authorised. Done when the advertisement would satisfy the written-consent test if it were a form.
A compliant exampleexample
Text JOIN to 55512 to get recurring automated marketing texts from Acme Coffee at the number you text from. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help.
Common mistakespitfalls
- The number element is the one keyword programmes almost always miss, and it is the easiest to add: the number they text from is the number they are authorising, and saying so costs eight words.
Rules you will hit next
Other consent flow rules at the same severity. A registration is judged as a whole, not rule by rule.
CON-017An offline opt-in still needs a findable business behind itHighHIGHCON-033Opt-in evidence must be the live surface, not a mockup of itHighHIGHCON-038Verbally-collected informational campaigns need the mockup and the messagesHighHIGHCON-042The phone field must be optional on a general-purpose formHighHIGHCON-044A required phone field must carry an SMS disclaimer beside itHighHIGHCON-064A kiosk or terminal must not pre-fill the consumer's numberHighHIGH
CON-164 is one of 101 consent flow rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.