Policy, purpose, and public complaint basis
- BSP acts in view of complaints from the public about unsolicited text messages.
- The memorandum mandates compliance to curb unsolicited push messages sent to mobile phones.
Core legal basis invoked
- Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012) governs unsolicited commercial electronic communications.
- BSP requires alignment with National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Memorandum Circular No. 03-03-2005-A dated 03 July 2006, as amended by NTC Memorandum Circular No. 04-07-2009 dated 07 July 2009.
- The NTC rules invoked by BSP prohibit content and/or information providers from sending and/or initiating push messages.
Defined “push messages” and responsible entities
- A push message is information transmitted to the mobile phone, whether subscribed or unsolicited, without a user request, and initiated by the Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) or CP.
- A Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) is any person, firm, partnership, or corporation (government or private) engaged in the provision of telecom services to the public for compensation.
- A CP (Content/Information Provider) is an organization that creates and maintains databases containing information from an information provider.
- Banks must ensure compliance by the entities and personnel they use, including outsourced agency/personnel.
Prohibition: unsolicited “push”/text messages
- BSP requires banks and their subsidiaries/affiliates to comply with the prohibition on unsolicited commercial communications under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175.
- BSP requires banks and their subsidiaries/affiliates to comply with the NTC framework that prohibits CPs from sending and/or initiating push messages.
- Under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175, commercial electronic communications that seek to advertise, sell, or offer for sale products and services require prior consent from the recipient.
- Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175 allows lawful commercial communications only where conditions are met, including the presence of an opt-out feature and compliance with rules against purposely disguising the source and misleading recipients into reading the message.
Consent and lawful subscriber participation
- A subscriber who wants to avail services offered by CPs and/or PTEs must provide written consent.
- Consent may be transmitted through correspondence, text message, internet, or other similar means of communication to the PTE.
- Banks must enforce lawful consent requirements so that communications are tied to the recipient’s request/authorization.
Bank responsibility for outsourced personnel
- Banks remain responsible for all violations of Republic Act No. 10175 and the NTC memoranda committed by their outsourced agency/personnel.
- Bank compliance extends to ensure that outsourced personnel and related parties do not initiate or facilitate unsolicited push messages.
Implementation and compliance directive
- BSP directs banks and their subsidiaries/affiliates to implement compliance measures to meet Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175 and the applicable NTC Memorandum Circulars.
- The memorandum expressly requires strict compliance with the cited legal and regulatory prohibitions.
- The memorandum is issued under the signature of NESTOR A. ESPENILLA, JR., Deputy Governor.