A new law passed in the state of California bans unwanted and
unsolicited commercial text messages to owners of mobile phones,
pagers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). The law is intended
to “curtail unsolicited advertising before the practice becomes
pervasive.”
The law does not provide for any direct fines or other penalties
for those that send text message spam. Consumers will have to sue
text message spammers to recoup any charges that their carriers may
levy for the receipt of text messages, although such lawsuits are
only likely as part of a class action.
California governor Gray Davis said in a statement: “Wireless
communication is an emerging technology. We are acting now to
prevent spam text messaging from spinning out of control like spam
e-mail has.”
