Text Message Privacy Laws and SMS Marketing Laws: What Marketers Need to Know in 2025

Text message marketing is a highly personal and effective way for businesses to reach their existing and potential customers. When you send an SMS to consumers, you reach them on their phones. Consumers use their phones to connect with their loved ones, too. Therefore, you must prioritize their privacy and SMS communication preferences. The most important thing is that the SMS inbox is always ON. Undoubtedly, including text message marketing in your overall marketing strategy is effective. However, businesses must adhere to text message privacy laws.

Texting laws are meant to protect consumers from unsolicited, spam, and fraudulent messages from unauthorized business senders. It also helps protect consumers’ data and privacy. Noncompliance, even if it’s done unintentionally, can be the reason for financial and reputational damage to your business. So, you must understand text message privacy laws and SMS marketing laws to ensure SMS compliance and avoid hefty penalties.

In this blog, we will outline SMS marketing and texting laws that you must know. Besides, we will cover potential penalties for noncompliance and tips and tricks to help you comply with these regulations.

Let’s start by understanding text message privacy laws and SMS marketing laws.

What are Text Message Privacy Laws?

Many governing bodies regulate how businesses should gather, store, and use customer data while crafting and sending creative SMS campaigns. These laws protect consumers from spam, fraud, unsolicited messages, data misuse, and privacy breaches. Text message privacy laws specify how consent should be obtained and ensure that personal information is handled responsibly.

What are SMS Marketing Laws?

SMS marketing laws oversee the text messages used for promotional and advertising purposes. These laws ensure that businesses obtain proper consent before sending marketing texts, provide opt-out options, and comply with industry standards. If businesses fail to comply with it, they have to face severe penalties, incorporating fines and legal actions.

How do Text Message Privacy Laws and SMS Marketing Laws Differ?

Let’s briefly compare text message privacy laws and SMS marketing laws.

Types of Text Message Privacy Laws and SMS Marketing Laws in the United States

Here are different text message privacy and SMS marketing laws in the US that determine SMS compliance.

1. TCPA

It stands for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It is a federal law that was passed in 1991. As per this law, businesses must obtain express written consent from the subscribers before sending them promotional text messages. One of the important things about this law is that you must make it clear to potential SMS subscribers that by being a part of your subscriber list, they are signing up to receive frequent automated marketing SMS. The consent language must be clearly visible and near the call to action button, as shown in the below image.

TCPA is regulated by CTIA, FCC, and FTC. The main purpose of this law is to protect consumers from unsolicited robocalls and text messages. Key requirements are:

• Businesses must obtain express written consent from consumers before sending them marketing text messages.
• They must provide clear opt-out instructions.
• Respect quiet hours, and don’t text during early morning or late night.

In case businesses violate TCPA law, they need to pay up to $1,500 per violation, depending on the severity of the violations.

The best practice for any SMS sign-up method is to use double opt-in. Once the potential subscriber provides their phone number, they should be automatically prompted to send a text message reply like “Y” from that phone number to confirm their interest. It is an excellent way to verify that the provided phone number is of the right person and they really want to receive periodic text messages from your business.

2. CAN-SPAM Act

The full form of the CAN-SPAM Act is Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. It was passed in 2003 and regulated by the FTC. The main purpose of this law is to prevent consumers from spam and unwanted email messages. However, it also regulates commercial text messages and prevents consumers from unsolicited text messages. The key requirement of this law is as follows.

• The content of the text message must be clear and accurate.
• Provide clear identification of the business. The message should be clearly identified as a business advertisement.
• Respect consumers’ opt-out requests promptly and remove them from your subscriber list. Also, provide clear opt-out instructions.

Under the CAN-SPAM Act, informational messages such as order confirmations, shipping updates, etc., can’t be sent without express written consent. Also, messages must comply with CAN-SPAM’s requirements, such as not containing misleading subject lines or false information.

3. CTIA

CTIA stands for Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. It is actually an industry standard, not a law. Just like TCPA, CTIA also needs a clear opt-in consent and Terms and Conditions, and all the details must be clearly visible. The main purpose of CTIA is to establish best practices for SMS for businesses. Other key requirements are as follows.

• Text messages must have a clear call to action. Potential subscribers must understand what they’re signing up for (automated marketing text messages).
• Your subscribers must be able to opt-out at any time by reverting to “STOP,” “CANCEL,” “UNSUBSCRIBE,” or “QUIT.”
• Text message content must be appropriate and relevant.
• SMS marketing must comply with carriers.
• Businesses must obtain express written consent and identify themselves in each outgoing text message.
• After the subscriber joins your SMS program, you must send them a message that includes how many times subscribers can expect a message from your business, what you will send, a way to opt-out, etc.

CTIA violation can lead to account suspension or carrier restrictions.

4. CCPA and CPRA Act

The full form of CCPA is the California Consumer Privacy Act, and CPRA’s full form is the California Privacy Rights Act. They were passed in 2020 and 2023. The California Privacy Protection Agency regulates these laws. The main purpose of this law is to give consumers more control over their personal data. Here are a few key requirements.

• Businesses must disclose how they collect and use SMS data.
• Customers can request the deletion of their data.
• Businesses must provide clear instructions and ways to opt out.

Businesses must pay up to $7,500 per intentional CCPA violation and $2,500 per unintentional CCPA violation.

State-Specific Laws Expanding SMS Privacy Regulations

Besides federal laws, some states have their own laws that restrict the use of specific text message marketing messages from businesses. Several states have their own specific SMS marketing laws, such as California, Virginia, New Jersey, Utah, Washington, Indiana, Oklahoma, Wyoming, etc. Here are a few of them.

VCDPA – Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act. This law grants consumers more control over their SMS data.

CPA – Colorado Privacy Act – It requires businesses to provide clear opt-in consent.

CTDPA – Connecticut Data Privacy Act – This act helps regulate SMS data collection and marketing practices.

Businesses must follow state-specific laws even when operating across state lines. To ensure compliance with all SMS marketing laws, you must monitor state-specific laws and adjust your texting practice accordingly.

Consent and Opt-in Requirements for SMS Marketing Compliance in 2025

Consent and opt-in requirements are important for SMS marketing compliance in 2025. Businesses must obtain explicit written consent before sending marketing messages and use the double opt-in method to ensure compliance. Here, we’ve briefly compared express and implied consent and double opt-in and single opt-in methods.

Double Opt-in vs. Single Opt-in

Now that you understand consent and opt-in types let’s discuss how to collect and store data legally.

What are the Best Practices for SMS Marketing Compliance 2025?

If you want to avoid legal issues and build trust with your consumers, you must follow these best practices.

• You must get express written consent from subscribers before sending them marketing messages.
• Ensure your potential subscribers understand what they’re signing up for. When they share their phone number, they must clearly understand that they’ll receive promotional messages from your brand. Also, agree to receive promotional text messages from your brand.
• Use the double opt-in method to confirm customer interest.
• Clearly disclose message frequency and terms and conditions in the opt-in process. You must include a hyperlink to your terms and conditions and privacy policy in the sign-up unit.
• Include your business’s name in all outgoing text messages. Your subscribers must be aware of whom they’re receiving text messages from.
• Avoid sending text messages late at night or early in the morning. Respect quiet hours.
• As the texting law changes, you must regularly update compliance practices.
• Let subscribers opt out of your SMS campaign at any time. The opt-out mechanism should be easy, like “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

Practice Compliant SMS Marketing With Textdrip

In a nutshell, SMS marketing and text message privacy laws safeguard consumers from spam, fraud, and unsolicited text messages. Besides, these laws exist to protect consumers’ privacy by mandating transparency from businesses about when, where, and how they will use consumer data. If you don’t comply with these laws, you need to face hefty fines and legal penalties. However, if you remain compliant with texting laws and plan your SMS marketing strategy accordingly, you can enjoy a higher response rate and ROI.

So, are you all set to craft an SMS marketing strategy that improves engagement, skyrockets your sales, and complies with texting laws? Textdrip can help you with it. Our AI-powered SMS marketing platform is user-friendly and easy to integrate with your existing system. Besides, it is equipped with all the necessary tools to reach your customers safely and effectively.

Book a demo or take a FREE trial and start practicing compliant SMS marketing for your consumers.