From the New York Times:
Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless... said the message went to subscribers who had voted for “Idol” singers in the past, and other “heavy texters.” He said the message could not be classified as spam because it was free and because it allowed people to decline future missives.
So, you know, AT&T says it isn't spam. Stop calling it that, angry AT&T customers! And Spamhaus!
Richard Cox, the chief information officer for Spamhaus, a nonprofit antispam organization based in Britain, countered: “It’s absolutely spam. It’s an unsolicited text message. People who received it didn’t ask for it. That’s the universal definition of spam.”
The FTC has already said that what AT&T did isn't illegal, since there's an opt-out and it isn't misleading.
But forget about the FTC; AT&T might want to think about what their customers define as spam. MarketingVox points out that "an email marketing survey released in March 2008 found users increasingly define spam as any unwanted message — whether or not they opted to receive them."
AT&T says the text messages only went to "heavy texters," but even that term seems to be up for debate:
No metrics were provided for what constituted "heavy texters." But at least one recipient, Evan Lowenstein, argued Siegel's defense was a "downright lie."
"On AT&T I have a 250 txt/mo plan and to date have maybe sent a total of 50 text messages over the course of the 4 or 5 months," Lowenstein stated, suggesting that by any metric he could hardly be considered a "heavy texter."
We rub our nipples idly and dismiss you from the auditioning room, AT&T. Come back when you have a better ear for what constitutes spam.
"A Text Arrives. Oh, It’s Just an ‘Idol’ Ad." [New York Times] (Thanks to zimmi88!)
"Unwanted 'American Idol' Text Message Backfires on AT&T" [MarketingVox]
There are a lot of things I hate about AT&T, but I'm actually a bit envious of their coverage area and their selection of GSM phones. I'm a rural Alltel U Prepaid customer who is dreading what Verizon is going to make poor Chad do.
I'm thinking about going with Net10 or possibly signing up with O2 Wireless, where I can use AT&T towers without directly giving my money to AT&T.
]]>Customer: You just bent me over and screwed me.
AT&T: We recently made it our policy to call "bending someone over and screwing them" as "super-happy-fun-time for the customer".
Customer: Well, I'm not paying for "super-happy-fun-time".
AT&T: I'm sincerely sorry sir, the invoice has already been entered into our system. In any event, it is also our policy to screw people when we screw them.
Customer: Well if screwing me is policy, then thanks for your time.
AT&T: You're welcome sir. We here at AT&T value your business. Thank you for choosing AT&T today. Can I transfer you now to our survey department where you will asked to participate in a quick 3-minute survey in which you will give us for free, information that has great commercial value to us? It will be super, happy and fun!
Stop crying.
]]>How do I opt out of receiving their messages before I recieve the messages that I didn't know I was going to recieve?
]]>I think they wanted me to sign up for a ring tone or something.
]]>Me, I'm out as soon as this contract is up. Scum sucking bastards.
]]>Why are marketing people so removed from reality? My sister in law has a marketing degree and every idea I have ever heard her present to me sounded totally idiotic.
]]>The best thing to do is go into your account online (I'm not sure where exactly for AT&T customers as I have Verizon) and block texts from web sources and email addresses. That way people can only text you from a phone. Verizon had a problem with spammers sending texts to a ton of their subscribers (I think it was last summer). I called customer care, they credited me and explained what happened. Basically, some spammer figured out the email adresses for text (yourphonenumber@vzwpix.com) and would just plug in phone numbers and send out millions of texts to Verizon customers. The rep also told me how to block those messages. If you set up an account online, you can manage your texting preferences- you can block up to 15 phone numbers or email addresses, block all web messages or block all messages from an email address. I wet in and did this and haven't gotten any spam since, but can still get texts from people I know. I would imagine that AT&T would have something similar to this available to their customers.
]]>Weird. I've got the 200 txt plan (which I go over constantly *facepalm*) and I did NOT receive any spam from AT&T.
Although I should add that my brother is the manager of the local AT&T store -- he may have taken us off of the 'spam list'.
]]>By calling to get the charge reversed, the affected subscribers got much more than the bogus 20 cent charge removed. They made their voice clear to AT&T that they didn't appreciate the unsolicited spam, they don't have to pay for something they shouldn't have to, and they took up paid time of an AT&T CSR, further making the point to AT&T that what they did was asinine.
]]>I'm a brand new customer to AT&T— haven't even paid my first bill yet, actually— so I'm curious about why they targeted me as a "heavy texter."
Also, I have never watched a single episode of Idol, nor do I wish to. Perhaps I was targeted because I'm a twenty-something?
Say what you will about Verizon, but at least they never sent me spam.
]]>It's spam. Plain and simple. Technology in the future will open these kinds of doors for this to occur but at the same time close them with increased digital security sophistication. It's just a matter of keeping up with the growth of it all.
]]>Please do call and tell us *politely* how upset you are. As an AT&T customer service rep I'd love to have a day filled with just empathizing to customers about how inconvenienced they were by a text message. That sounds like an easy day to me. Although, I don't think it would affect their bottom line too much, I'd have to say. Don't forget to check your bill and call back for a 20 cent credit if the system accidentally charges you for it.
]]>whew! I'm glad you got that 20 cents credited back to your account.
]]>No, kidding aside, I didn't get a message. Very glad, too. I watched that show for a couple seasons, but now hate it with a passion because it's not a talent show. It's not about talent and never has been. It's about Coca-Cola and Ford ads. And enabling stupid people.
]]>@missdona:
I'm wondering about that myself. I use the corporate discount and, though I've never texted AI, I would certainly qualify as a heavy texter. I have the unlimited text plan and send and receive anywhere from 500 to 1000 texts a month, yet I didn't receive this spam.
]]>Funny, that...when I have said in the past that all unwanted advertising is spam, I've encountered idiots - some of them posters (posteriors?) on this site - who said I was "unreasonable". It seems a lot of people agree with me after all.
Unfortunately, government is in the pocket of big business and/or they are technically illiterate and out of touch with reality. Whenever you hear about a law regarding spam, it always - and I do mean always - revolves around "opt out" for the victim of spam, and never puts the onus on the sender. I don't care how often I buy from a particulare company, unless I ask them to contact me they have no right to do so, and they can only call me in regard to what I contact them about.
]]>Isn't AT&T the same Company that spies for the NSA? I used to be a Cingular customer and hated every last minute of it. The very minute my contract ended, I left. Now AT&T is the same as Cingular.. a match made in hell. Even with the Jesus phone, I will not be an AT&T/Cingular customer.
]]>@krispykrink: You could try calling AT&T and asking them to reverse the charge for the text message and the one you had to send asking them to stop. I'm on T-Mobile, and when I got a few spam text messages a few months ago (from an outside party) I asked them to waive the charges on those texts, which they did. I know, different company, but they might have the same policy.
]]>Thanks, assclowns, I'm glad I didn't replace my 1st Gen iPhone with a 3G, thus extending my contract for another year.
]]>"Punish" AT&T...man I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Good one.
]]>It's stupid that they think offering an opt out is acceptable for something like this, since I think we've all been trained to realize that most spam opt outs is just a way to signal that you've got a valid account. Why would I think differently about a text message? Moreover, how do I know it's really coming from who it says it's from, anyway? For all I know the opt out option is some sort of phishing attempt.
Poor form, Sprint and AT&T. Poor form.
]]>@TheSpatulaOfLove: Remember when someone floated the idea to have an American Idol type competition for an alternative presidential candidate??? That was quickly shot down by the powerfull business owned political parties as they absolutely did not want to have political competition from someone outside the mainstream who might actually have a chance in winning...
]]>Think they might be censoring the forums?
]]>I did the 'stop' reply, which sucks as it counts against my text message usage, but given that I don't use all my allotted texts anyways...
]]>I would say AT&T customers should call customer service instead. When the wait time reaches an hour, you know the spam-ees have done their job.
]]>...but perhaps it should be?
Perhaps Senator Kohl should take a look at this when/if he resubmits his text-messaging bill?
]]>@Southern: Remember that a customer is one acct. but there can be up to 5 phones on each acct. for "non-corporate".
]]>Something doesn't sound right to me.. According to Nielsen, the ratings for American Idols opening night were 30.07 million viewers. Yet AT&T sent the text to 75 million?
Does AT&T even have 75 Million cell phone customers? That's like 1/4 of the population of the entire United States (303 Million as of 2008 census).
Hmm.. interesting. According to AT&T's own web site, [www.att.com] they only have 70.1 wireless customers.. Those are 2007 figures (they probably haven't finished 2008's yet), but even if they did add 5+ million customers last year, that would mean that they had to have sent the text to every single customer.. :)
Something ain't adding up.
]]>Still, there seems to be a lot of raging over what's really not much of a big deal.
]]>@RandaPanda0283: I've got the family plan also with 5 lines and at least 2 of them kids' lines with tons of texting going on. Not one of the 5 lines got the text message about Idol.
]]>My understanding is not enough to be free and have an opt-out method if it ends up costing you money anyway. A spam-fax is also free and can have an opt-out method, it's still illegal (because if cost the receiver money). A telemarketer calling a cellphone can offer you to opt-out, it still costs you minutes.
AT&T's new business plan, send 75M spam sms, wait for 50% to answer STOP and charge 20cts each. That's $7.5 million.
]]>One good thing is I found out how to opt out of marketing messages from at&t by texting back 'stop'.
]]>Basically because Optus didn't identify themselves properly the SMS that were sent out had been classified as spam and subsequently the provider was fined.
]]>I like to push the PRAM-a-lot!
]]>@Captain Sassypants: I'm with you. I'm on a family plan, with unlimited messages, and my family is a texting heavy family...between me and an all of my family we send almost 15,000+ messages (no, not a typo, I said 15 THOUSAND messages) each month. We also have 5 lines on the plan.
I don't think anyone on our family plan got the message.
]]>Update to me being charged: I called AT&T and a CSR refunded the text charge after I told them that I was charged for this bunk.
]]>I did not receive the spam message yesterday.
]]>And let them know they can opt-out of these complaints by not text messaging you again.
My iPhone is tied to a business account, so maybe that's why I didn't get it...
]]>/yeah, right
]]>Hmm, free messages that offer you the option to opt out of future messages?
Isn't that every piece of spam you've received ever?
]]>I replied for it to stop but I don't remember my contract stating that I am signing up for marketing messages with my service.
I decide not to contact ATT because I know the CSRs wouldn't know that there was a text sent out and it would be a waste of my time. But I am a little upset also.
]]>Makes me glad I don't watch the show, don't have ATT, and I never text. Of course, just because of their 'sponsorship' connection, I stay away from them.
]]>I did not receive any spam.
Go figure.
]]>Ugh, I agree. I can't wait until that American Idol shit runs its course. I've had enough of everyone fawning over the results, including competing networks. Why is anything American Idol considered news now?!
]]>I got the AT&T text. I've NEVER voted for an American Idol contestant,nor any contestant on any show. I text about 10 messages a month max. I don't fit EITHER profile, so why did I get it?
Unsolicited text messages from AT&T are irritating. Unless something earth shattering is going down in the world (i.e., aliens have landed, David Hasselhoff gets sold to the Germans), don't text me AT&T!
]]>Of course they'll hide behind some subsection that says they can do anything they want to you even when it's illegal (they have a congress already willing to rubber stamp their crimes), they can change the terms of the contract anytime they feel like it, and if you don't like that then speak to their arbitrator's hand....
]]>Glad to see this post. I got the text and (i) figured it was spam and (ii) didn't respond to cancel under the "don't respond to spam" rule. I can now.
I have never sent or received more than ten text messages in a month. Hardly a heavy user. What a fatuous explanation.
I do look forward to the follow up sorry-for-spamming-you message.
]]>I used to do that with Charter when they kept sending me marketing emails. Finally I just created a filter on the web interface that caught them and emailed them back to the support address :D
]]>Screw their explanation its spam. Bring the noise.
]]>They spam me, then charge me money to opt-out from receiving future spam.
]]>(And yes, aircards can still send/receive SMS texts!)
]]>I got a free AT&T "spam" message on my phone for something, I don't remember what exactly. But it sent to text back if you didn't want to recieve them in the future. So I did. And then they charged me for the text message to tell them I don't want any more text messages!
]]>