T-Mobile to Weedmaps, Everyone: No Texting Without Our OK
T-Mobile to Weedmaps, Everyone: No Texting Without Our OK
T-Mobile to Weedmaps, Everyone: No Texting Without Our OK

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    Once T-Mobile prevented its customers from receiving text messages from Weedmaps.com, the real action started.  EZtexting.com, the company that WeedMaps used to send out its text messages, sued T-Mobile for disconnecting them.  T-Mobile responded with a curt “it’s my ball and I make the rules.” 

    In T-Mobile’s world, every short code campaign requires prior approval from T-Mobile before it can reach any T-Mobile customers.  T-Mobile made clear it that, if it felt that a campaign could offend a T-Mobile customer, it would be blocked for all T-Mobile customers. 

    It is important to keep in mind that the WeedMaps service was entirely opt-in.  T-Mobile has not produced evidence of a single customer complaint about receiving messages from WeedMaps.  People who might be offended by a service that helps patients find licensed medical marijuana dispensaries had an easy way to avoid it – never sign up.  This is the same way that people avoid receiving text messages about sports scores or what Martha Stewart thinks you should make for dinner tonight or updates from the floor of the HVAC convention in Baltimore.

    Substitute “phone number” for “text message” and this becomes even more senseless.  Imagine if before you could get a phone from T-Mobile, or any other carrier for that matter, you had to tell them who you were going to call and what you were going to talk about for the entire time you had the number.  Then, after having to gather that information and present it to T-Mobile, T-Mobile could decide that it really didn’t like who you were going to talk to or what you were going to talk about.  So T-Mobile refused to let you make phone calls.  That wouldn’t just be weird, it would be illegal.

    T-Mobile is a wireless company, not anyone’s mother.  Customers should not have to get approval from their wireless company when they want to opt-in to text messages.  It is time for the FCC to act on our petition and make it clear that wireless carriers do not get to pre-approve your text messages.

    CLICK HERE to Tell the FCC to Protect Text Messaging