{
  "id": "MSG-261",
  "slug": "msg-261",
  "title": "The call to action must not misdescribe the programme",
  "statement": "Neither the call to action nor subsequent messages may use deceptive language, or misdescribe what the programme sends, how often, or what it costs.",
  "rationale": "This is deception measured against the promise rather than against the truth: a consumer who agreed to \"occasional order updates\" and receives daily promotions was misled at the point of consent, whichever message you read on its own. It is the one deception rule that reaches back to the opt-in copy, which is why it catches programmes that are entirely honest about each message and dishonest about the shape of the whole. The innocent cause is almost always drift — the CTA was written for the programme as it was launched, and nobody rewrote it when marketing was added.",
  "layer": "MESSAGE_CONTENT",
  "layerSlug": "message-content",
  "object": "campaign.sample[] + CTA copy + campaign.message_flow",
  "severity": "BLOCKING",
  "detectability": [
    "CRAWL"
  ],
  "failureClass": "RETRY_FIELD",
  "authorities": [
    "CTIA"
  ],
  "applicabilityText": "Applies to every 10DLC registration.",
  "universal": true,
  "remediation": "Rewrite the call to action to describe the programme you are actually registering — every content type it sends, the real frequency, and the cost position — then check the samples against it line by line. Done when a recipient reading only the CTA would be unsurprised by every sample in the campaign.",
  "example": "CTA: \"Text me Acme Coffee offers, rewards updates and order notifications. Msg frequency varies (about 4/month). Msg & data rates may apply.\" — matching a sample set that contains all three kinds.",
  "pitfalls": [
    "Adding the missing content type to the CTA usually changes the consent standard as well: a programme that admits it sends promotions needs promotional-grade consent, so the CTA edit and the use case have to move together."
  ],
  "phase": "approval",
  "automated": true,
  "url": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/message-content/msg-261/",
  "markdown": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/message-content/msg-261.md",
  "registry": "https://ekas.io/rules/10dlc/",
  "updated": "2026-07-25",
  "licence": "CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}