The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates commercial A2P marketing SMS under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Sending marketing SMS generally requires explicit consent from recipients. The “Soft Opt-in” exception applies only under strict conditions, with separate compliance rules for charities. Senders bear full compliance liability.
The preconditions for Soft Opt-in: the business obtained contact details during a product or service transaction, the marketing promotes only similar goods or services, and an easy unsubscribe mechanism was offered to users at the point of data collection. This exception does not apply to political party campaign messages. Charities sending marketing SMS must also obtain recipients’ interest and include an unsubscribe option in every message.
End users who receive marketing SMS may first reply “STOP” following on-message instructions to opt out. If no unsubscribe option is provided, users can check the organisation’s privacy notice and contact the sender via official channels to halt messages. For unknown or suspicious messages, do not reply or click links; scam SMS may be forwarded to 7726 for reporting. Recipients receiving persistent non-compliant marketing SMS can submit a complaint form to ICO. If extra charges are incurred from receiving messages, complaints should be directed to Ofcom, as this matter falls outside ICO’s remit.
For charity marketing, the UK operates a free fundraising preference service where users manage contact permissions from charitable organisations. High-volume nuisance SMS such as accident claims, debt sales and PPI promotions frequently use rotating numbers and full blocking cannot be guaranteed; ongoing reporting is recommended.
