Megafon was fined 200,000 rubles for an SMS advertising campaign

Moscow regional OFAS fined Megafon two hundred thousand rubles for distributing advertising without prior consent of subscribers.

According to Article 18 of the Federal Law “On Advertising”, “distribution of advertising over telecommunication networks, including through the use of telephone, facsimile, and mobile radiotelephone communications, is allowed only with the prior consent of the subscriber or addressee to receive advertising”. Advertising is distributed without the prior consent of the subscriber in the event that the distributor of advertising does not prove the opposite - that is, does not provide evidence of the recipient's consent to receive advertising messages. The distributor must immediately stop sending the advertisement to the person who requested this request.

On the basis of this law, OFAS fined Megafon PJSC for two hundred thousand rubles. This penalty provides for part 1 of Article 14.4 of the Administrative Code. Distribution of advertising by a legal entity without the addressee’s consent entails a fine of one hundred to five hundred thousand rubles.