Trump re-election campaign texts allegedly violated spam laws

FromThe Verge:

President Donald Trumps reelection campaign is reportedly fighting cellphone carriers over the right to send Americans unsolicited texts.According toBusiness Insider, the campaigns lawyers are in active talks with phone companies after a third-party screening tool blocked Trump texts in early July. The campaign alleges that screening the texts amounts to suppressing political speech, while carriers fear allowing them will result in fines for violating anti-spam rules.

The 2020 election has broughta wave of text messagesfrom across the political spectrum, particularly with the pandemic limiting in-person outreach. Many users didnt opt in to these missives, and its unclear whether they violate federal laws meant to curb unwanted texts. The Trump administration, meanwhile, hasimposed steeper finesfor spammy and illegal robocalls. Thats reportedly put carriers on edge despite Trumps campaign contending its not illegally automating texts.

Naturally, this whole screw-up is being blamed on Jared Kushner, who's supposed to be mediating the campaign's (and/or the President's?) relationships with the major telecom companies.

Trump reportedly clashes with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile over spam texts [Adi Robertson / The Verge]

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