Mobile Marketing and User Privacy Rights
As Africa’s largest telecom market with over 100million subscribers, Nigeria has remained a top priority for telecom investors. In the last decade, the industry has attracted foreign direct investment in excess of $25 billion, driven largely by the revision of the telecom sector policy in 2003. The policy review, which led to the liberalization of the telecoms market, ramped up the acquisition of mobile devices. Consequently, mobile subscriptions have grown from 400,000 in 2000 to over 121 million by 2013. However, the increased adoption of mobile technologies and applications has presented both advantages and challenges to mobile users. One key challenge is the intrusion on mobile user privacy.
In a bid to attract, engage and acquire more customers, mobile network operators (MNOs) may have exploited consumers’ privacy through intrusive mobile marketing activities. Other controversies that are of concern to mobile users are the operator’s ability to generate unapproved customer profiles, send unsolicited text messages, make un- solicited calls and provide subscriber account details to a third party.
Given the importance of consumer privacy, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has put in place regulatory guidelines. However, the key questions remain: ‘How effective are these guidelines in protecting the privacy of the telecom consumer from intrusive mobile marketing activities? Are telecom operators adhering to these guidelines?’ By examining mobile marketing activities and the regulatory framework of the telecom industry vis-à-vis consumers of the telecom services, an effective solution can be proffered.
Addressing the issue of intrusive Mobile Marketing
With today’s high rate of development and adoption of mobile technology, businesses are shifting from traditional advertising platforms for the more personalized and direct channeling that Mobile Marketing offers.
Mobile Marketing refers to marketing (and promotional) activities carried out on a mobile device. It is increasingly being adopted by businesses who seek to ramp up customer awareness, engagement and acquisition levels. It can be conducted by a telephone call to a mobile line, via short or multimedia messages (i.e., SMS or MMS) to a mobile telephone number, by fax to a fax number, or via the internet by email or other means.
With increasing mobile marketing activities, telecom users are regularly swamped with unsolicited text messages and phone calls. While MNOs and VAS providers have been widely commended for unlocking this medium as an innovative and strategic business solution, if uncontrolled, Mobile Marketing could become a huge nuisance to consumers.
Complaints have increased about how these activities are intrusive, interrupt daily activities and offer no choice to opt out or decline the service. This situation is not peculiar to Nigeria. However, it is well regulated in other countries, such as the UK (Office for Communication), South Africa (Independent Communication Authority for South Africa), Australia (Australian Telecommunications & Media Authority), the US (Federal Communications Commission) and India (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).
A common method employed by these countries to curb the growing menace of mobile marketing is the creation of the ““Do Not Call Register”. The Do Not Call Register is a register of domestic telephone numbers (mobile phone numbers, landlines and fax numbers) whose users have indicated that they do not want to receive mobile marketing calls. It is against the law for any organization to contact any number in the register.
Telemarketers are required to search the registry at least once every 31 days and drop from their call lists phone numbers of consumers who have registered. Consumers who receive mobile marketing calls from MNOs and VAS providers after registering can file complaints through the appropriate agency. The US has over 200 million numbers registered in its National Do Not Call Registry while Canada had 12 million as of January 2014. Despite the significant reduction in unsolicited mobile marketing calls, consumers are of the opinion that this method is insufficient as it does not actually block telemarketers from calling; it only allows reporting of those that call despite the restriction.
