The call to action must not misdescribe the programme
The requirementstatement
Neither the call to action nor subsequent messages may use deceptive language, or misdescribe what the programme sends, how often, or what it costs.
- Severityseverity
- BlockingBLOCKINGBreaking this rule gets the submission rejected. There is no partial credit.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- campaign.sample[] + CTA copy + campaign.message_flow
- Where it liveslayer
- Message contentMESSAGE_CONTENT
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- AI · crawlCRAWL
- Needs your live site or policy page fetched and read. Ekas crawls it the way a reviewer would.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Fix the fieldRETRY_FIELD
- A better value in the form fixes it. Ekas can rewrite it and re-check.
- Who requires itauthorities
- CTIA
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies to every 10DLC registration.
Why this rule existsrationale
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.
How to fix itremediation
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.
A compliant exampleexample
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.
Common mistakespitfalls
- 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.
Rules you will hit next
Other message content rules at the same severity. A registration is judged as a whole, not rule by rule.
MSG-008Opt-in confirmation must be 20–255 charactersBlockingBLOCKINGMSG-009HELP reply must be 20–255 charactersBlockingBLOCKINGMSG-011Opt-out confirmation must be 20–255 charactersBlockingBLOCKINGMSG-018An MMS campaign must attach at least one sample media fileBlockingBLOCKINGMSG-019Each MMS sample file must sit under its per-type size ceilingBlockingBLOCKINGMSG-031Sample messages must be in EnglishBlockingBLOCKING
MSG-261 is one of 122 message content rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.