Ex-privacy exec warns of trust crisis in SMS

MANILA, Philippines — People using short messaging service (SMS) will shift faster to internet messaging platforms, triggering a trust crisis on text messages and mobile phone use, if regulators and the government fail to address the worsening problem of unsolicited text promos and scams, a former privacy official has warned.

Former privacy commissioner Raymund Liboro yesterday warned of a looming trust crisis on telco brought about by the escalating problem of large-scale sending of unsolicited text messages of dubious promos and scams that have been the subject of complaints by telco consumers.

“We’re now seeing a looming trust crisis,” Liboro, who founded the think tank Privacy and Security By Design, told The STAR in a phone interview.

Liboro said active and effective regulation by the government could still avert the crisis and keep users of mobile phones using SMS as an easy and convenient means of communication.

He added that regulators should zero in on so-called data brokers and SMS casters or third-party entities tapped by telcos and private companies for marketing campaigns using text messages.

“Unfortunately, SMS casters have also been used by criminals to undertake their scams,” Liboro said.

The former head of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) also argued that the looming crisis needs legislation, like enacting a SIM card registration law, to be effectively acted on by regulators.

Liboro explained that mandating the registration of data brokers who can undertake massive text message sending could quickly put a stop to the problem.

“Regulators could require entities that send out large volumes of SMS to register with an SMS Sender Identity Registry, which will then give them the ability to monitor and regulate such activities,” he said.

“If they set up an identity registry for these SMS casters, then only trusted senders can use the telco gateway,” he added.

Last week, the NPC, the National Telecommunications Commission and telcos had a meeting to discuss the problem of the proliferating text messages of dubious promos and text scams sent to telco consumers.