Regulation of SMS spam. Let's ponder?

The topic of SMS spam and anti-spam has been raised on Habré more than once. And this week the hub is very popular. Much has been written, options have been proposed, and even warnings about threats have been made. Today I decided to speculate with the community in a slightly different plane. On the regulation of SMS spam. Starting with the current situation, personal experience and reflecting on the ideal scenario of regulation, ala "but as we would like." So, let's begin.

Current situation

The cost of one SMS-message has become negligible, anyone can send spam even without having its own database. There are tariffs, where the cost of just 6 kopecks. (with large volumes), and any person can register for a similar mailing. For one of my internal events, I easily found an SMS gateway with an accessible web interface. And still the service kindly offered me to use the base of partners. I had to refuse, because I need to send messages to my friends.
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As a result: each of us suffers from annoying SMS. Taxi for 100 rubles, a loan especially for you, etc.

How to fight? Ways of struggle also do not stand still. They can be classified in different ways, but I’ll come up in terms of social utility: selfish and socially useful .

Selfish

This is when, for example, we change the number, because the old one is lit up in spam databases or we use a program that learns how to block locally, and not somewhere on the server. True number change does not help. One of my friends wanted to abandon the smartphone in favor of a simple handset with a long-playing battery at the time of changing the number, but it didn’t grow together, because I don’t have to install a program that blocks unnecessary SMS. The provider seemed to have merged the number or the number belonged to someone earlier. In general, this is any way that does not help other users.

Socially useful

This way of helping others reap the benefits of your activity, i.e. get less spamming sms. Use applications with a single centralized blacklist database, write complaints to the FAS, write directly to the sender (all of a sudden gets adequate), call a taxi closer to the CAD / order a ton of cakes and refuse (unethical, but if you explain the reason for the refusal, you can reach the manual, t . advertising will not be repulsed).

The list, probably, can be continued. If you have something to add, write in the comments. Proapdatim.

Personal experience

Not an advertisement at all, because there is no much positive use experience. So, that tried:

• When I was bored with the first spamming sms, I found out about the smsnenado.ru service / I wasn’t too lazy, I interrupted the sms text with my hands (the application in beta recently appeared). The service promises the following:
  

  When the number is added to the stop list, we will notify you by e-mail.

  I sent 3-5 requests there. As I received messages about new collections of Monton, I get it. Nothing came to the email.
• Next is the next step. Asked friends in social networks, who uses what. Recommended Spam Agent . Program without extra gadgets. Works on machine learning methods. Spam began to get much less, but it is local. For others, there is no use. From a selfish list. By the way, before, and maybe after (I don’t remember), I tried to rake / test an abundance of programs on the market on my own. In some, just buried in the interface.
• Then I learned that there is an application RosSpam . There are black and white lists. Black is exactly centralized. Plus there is an opportunity to send a complaint to the FAS. I use recently, letters 5 in the front are gone. With history in the know .
• While I was writing about the IT options, I remembered another way. Reputable companies provide an opportunity to officially unsubscribe from their mailings. True, it would be necessary to call yourself. But this method was the most effective. I don’t receive SMS from Eurasian restaurants anymore.

Perfect SMS Spam Management

What I wanted to discuss. Let's a little imagination. Imho here are two main options for development, so that we receive an amount identical to a decade ago:
- through the community
Here you need to promote / advertise / support applications and services that help to centrally deal with spam. Maintain ruble, word of mouth, etc. Now, if everyone used the same application, the effectiveness of spam detection would increase significantly! It is clear that one cannot get rid of the zoo of applications, but one could introduce a single standardized base of the “black list”. In general, I am sure that it would be possible to impose a standard on this matter through the community. world wide spam consortium

- legislative and executive
Here the flight of fancy is limitless. I still believe that adequate laws / regulations we are able to take. I would repel the following components:

1. Require SMS gateways to request real data for registering accounts. A copy of the passport, for example, or a copy of the TIN. It is necessary that in the event of a complaint it is easy to go to the source of SMS spam.
2. For mass SMS mailings, it is obligatory to lay the mechanism of unsubscribe. Similar to email newsletters. This is very lacking. Although free sms with a code word in response. Although through the official application RosKomNadzor. It does not matter, but it is really necessary. It would be amicable to leave.
3. And of course, fine-fine violators. You can even more than now. And individuals too. To discourage it.

Share your ideas in the comments! Who knows, maybe this will be the first small step towards a brighter future, where companies will not want to send SMS spam. After all, can Habr read a person who has the right to put forward a legislative initiative? Can.

And, of course, the survey finally.

UPD: as one of the ways to fight. Taken from here . Thanks and7ey :

Beeline: short number 1888.
We send to 1888 sms with the number of the sender sms.

Megaphone: short number 1911.
We send the SMS itself to the number 1911.

MTS: short number 6333.
To send a complaint, you must perform the following steps:
1. Send a promotional SMS without changes to the number 6333.
In response, you will receive an SMS from 6333 with a request for the name or number of the sender of the promotional SMS.
2. Send an SMS with the name or number of the sender to the number 6333 within 10 minutes after receiving the corresponding request.