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Ask HN: Why don't we get spam on cell phones?

1 points by matc ↗ HN
Why don't we get spam on cell phones as text messages, although we get spam via email?

7 comments

[ 8.2 ms ] story [ 1043 ms ] thread
Navarr
Clearly: Its illegal.

I assume due mainly to the cost to consumers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_spam#Criminality_a...

If we were charged on the amount of emails received, it might be illegal to receive spam through that as well :p

matc
Would it be impossible to make email spam illegal?

Why was it possible to make SMS spam, but not email, illegal?

instakill
Email spam is illegal in countries that enforce the CAN-SPAM act.
matc
Why isn't the CAN-SPAM act enforced, say in the US?
beaumartinez
Because text messages do cost money to send. Email doesn't.
matc
There are email gateways to all major phone providers, so one can send, rather than receive, text messages without cost.
instakill
Count yourself lucky. In South Africa, where text messaging has been a big thing for about 2 decades, cell phone spam is prevalent and hated by the 74% of the population (the percent that owns a cell phone).