Prohibited Content - NORAM SMS / MMS
Prohibited Content Policy
A2P Messaging in the United States & Canada
Bird aims to guarantee a positive interaction and a beneficial experience for all users via A2P Messaging. Therefore, it is fundamental to adhere to the local policies and best practices of the messaging industry. The following categories have been recognized as harmful or potentially deceitful to the end-user and will not be supported on any available number originator options for the United States and Canada - i.e. short codes, toll-free numbers, US 10DLC, Canadian long codes. Please note that these prohibited use cases are related to the content of the message and the business type itself.
• Payday loans • Short-term high-interest loans
• 3rd party loans • New loan soliciting • Auto loans • Mortgage loans • Student loans • 3rd party debt collection • Gambling/sweepstakes • Stocks and investing platforms • Cryptocurrency
"3rd party" means originating from any party other than the one which will service the original loan. Examples of 3rd party loans may include: auto, mortgage, personal, etc.
First party loan content is acceptable if it is NOT any promotional messaging or "payment due" messaging .
Work and Investment Opportunities
• Deceptive work-from-home programs
• Job alerts from 3rd party recruiting firms • Risky investment opportunities • Multi-level marketing • Mystery Shopping
"3rd party" means originating from any party other than the one offering the hiring opening.
Debt forgiveness and consolidation
• 3rd party debt collection • Debt consolidation • Debt reduction • Credit repair programs
"3rd party" means originating from any party other than the one which will service the original loan. Debt consolidation, debt reduction and credit repair programs are prohibited regardless if it is based on a 1st party consent.
Federally Illegal Drugs, Substances or Articles
• Cannabis • CBD or cannabis derivatives • Drug-related equipment
• Vapes and e-cigarettes
• Fireworks
Examples: cannabis, CBD, or drug-related equipment businesses or any items that are not legal in all states. Prohibition applies regardless of content. All related use cases are prohibited, whether it mentions this content in the messages or not. Even 2FA messages are not allowed for businesses in these industries.
SHAFT
• Sex and pornography • Hate speech and profanity • Alcohol • Firearms • Tobacco and smoking devices
Controlled substances
• All Schedule I and II drugs by the U.S. Controlled Substances Act • Prescription drugs
Prohibited regardless if the business is a licensed professional.
Gambling
• Casino apps • Websites for gambling • Sweepstakes • Betting/ Sports picks
Prohibited regardless if the business is a licensed professional.
Carriers’ product competition
• Home & mobile phone services
Lead generation practices, services and marketing
Businesses and organizations that buy, sell, or share consumer information.
Affiliate lending services
Affiliate marketing
Deceptive marketing
Others
• Phishing messages • Fraud and scam schemes • Illegal practices
Message senders are expected to review and enforce restrictions on their own networks to prevent onboarding of disallowed content.
If messages are sent into the Bird platform containing prohibited content or disallowed practices, Bird reserves the right to block these messages prior to delivering them to a carrier network. Categories are subject to change and traffic in other categories that are not mentioned above may also be blocked without notice.
In the event that prohibited content is identified on our platform, Bird reserves the right to take actions including, but not limited to, the following: the suspension of sending rights, restriction of high-throughput access, suspension of provisioning rights for new phone numbers, and/or suspension of all A2P messaging services for United States and Canada.
In case, prohibited content results in fines from the mobile network operators towards Bird, these will be passed along to the customer (content provider). If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@messagebird.com.
Note that shared number originators are NOT allowed. A shared originator is one where multiple content providers (businesses, etc.) are running content on the same number and have the ability to custom craft content.
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