Stop Political Texts: Regain Your Peace

During election season, it is common to receive an influx of political text messages from various campaigns and organizations. While this can be a nuisance, there are ways to reduce the number of unwanted messages you receive. In this article, we will discuss the methods you can use to unsubscribe from political texts, including replying with STOP, adjusting your phone settings to filter out unknown senders, and identifying potential scams. We will also explore the tactics used by political campaigns to send these messages and why they are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry.

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Legitimate political campaign operators should remove you from their contact list if you reply with STOP

During an election season, it is common to receive an influx of calls and texts from political campaigns. While these campaign calls and texts are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) outlines specific rules that campaigns must follow. For instance, political campaigns are prohibited from sending autodialed or prerecorded voice calls, including autodialed live calls, autodialed texts, and prerecorded voice messages to cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices without prior express consent.

If you are receiving unsolicited political text messages, legitimate political campaign operators should remove you from their contact list if you reply with "STOP". This is because campaigns are required to honor opt-out requests. It is important to note that this method applies specifically to legitimate text campaigns.

In addition to replying with "STOP", you can take further steps to reduce unwanted text messages. One suggestion is to change your phone settings to filter out all unknown senders. However, this may result in missing important text messages, such as reminders for doctor's appointments or restaurant reservations. Alternatively, you can manually block each number that sends you political texts.

If you continue to receive unsolicited political text messages after replying with "STOP", you can report the sender by forwarding the texts to 7726 or "SPAM". Additionally, you can file an informal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) if you believe you have received a political text that does not comply with the FCC's rules.

Scammers are harder to stop, but you can forward the text to 7726 (SPAM) to report them

Political text messages can be annoying, especially during election season. While campaign calls and texts are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements, you can revoke your consent at any time by simply replying "STOP" to the text. Political campaigns are required to follow FCC restrictions and must honor your request to opt out.

Scammers, on the other hand, can be harder to stop. They often send fake text messages to trick you into giving up your personal information, such as passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. They may also include links that, if clicked, could give them access to your email, bank, or other accounts.

To deal with scam text messages, you can forward the text to 7726 (SPAM). This number is specifically designated for reporting spam text messages. Additionally, you can block the number on your phone to prevent receiving further messages from that specific sender. On iPhones, go to the Messages app, tap the name or number, tap Info, scroll down, and then tap "Block this Caller." For Android phones, you can stop potential spam messages from the Messages app as well.

Another option to reduce unwanted text messages is to change your phone settings to filter out all unknown senders. On iPhones, go to Settings > Apps > Messages, scroll down to Message Filtering, and turn on "Filter Unknown Senders." This will cause messages from unknown senders to be filtered into another folder, and you won't receive notifications for them.

Political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call list, but they must follow FCC restrictions

During election season, it is common to experience an influx of calls and texts from political campaigns. While these campaign calls and texts are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements, they must adhere to specific FCC restrictions. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) outlines rules that political campaigns must follow, including obtaining prior consent for informational robocalls and robotexts to mobile phones.

Political campaigns are not required to obtain prior consent for calls to landlines, although there is a limit of three calls per 30-day period for residential landlines without prior consent. However, they must comply with certain identification requirements for artificial or prerecorded voice messages. These messages must clearly state the identity of the individual or entity making the call, including the official business name if it is a corporate entity. Additionally, the telephone number of the caller must be provided during or after the message.

It is important to distinguish between legitimate text campaigns and scammers when attempting to unsubscribe from political texts. Legitimate campaigns are required to honor opt-out requests, so replying "STOP" to their texts should remove you from their contact list. However, scammers may be more challenging to stop, as they often disregard the National Do Not Call list and engage in illegal activities.

If you continue to receive unwanted political texts, you can take additional steps. You can report the sender by forwarding the texts to 7726 ("SPAM") or file an informal complaint with the FCC at fcc.gov/complaints. It is worth noting that legitimate companies violating the rules can face substantial fines per call. Additionally, you can explore call-blocking and call-labeling services offered by phone companies or third-party apps to reduce unwanted texts and calls.

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Political campaigns must have your permission to contact you, so you may have inadvertently agreed to share your number with third parties

Political campaigns are exempt from the National Do Not Call Registry requirements. However, they must follow specific rules outlined by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). This includes the requirement to obtain prior consent from the recipient for robocalls and robotexts to mobile phones.

Political campaigns may have obtained your phone number through publicly available voter registration information. They then use volunteers' personal cell phones to send you text messages, which is considered person-to-person (P2P) messaging. This is because sending text messages through an application would be classified as application-to-consumer (A2P) messaging, which is subject to regulations from telecom carriers that require recipients to agree to receive these texts.

To stop receiving political text messages, you can reply "STOP" to the sender. Legitimate text campaign operators should remove you from their list upon receiving this request. However, this method only works for legitimate campaigns, and scammers may be harder to stop. If you suspect a scam, you can forward the text message to 7726 (SPAM) or block the number.

Additionally, you can take proactive measures to reduce unwanted text messages by changing your phone settings to filter out unknown senders. This way, you can minimize the clutter in your text inbox while still receiving messages from contacts in your address book.

Change your phone settings to filter out unknown senders

If you're tired of receiving political texts from unknown senders, changing your phone settings to filter them out is a great option. Here's a detailed guide to help you do that:

For iPhone Users:

To filter out unknown senders on your iPhone, follow these steps:

• Go to your phone's Settings.
• Tap on "Apps".
• Select "Messages".
• Scroll down and turn on "Filter Unknown Senders".
• Now, in the Messages app, tap "Filters", then "Unknown Senders".
• You won't receive notifications for these messages, and they will be filtered out.

Additionally, you can block specific numbers or contacts on your iPhone. Here's how:

• Open the Messages app and go to the conversation with the sender you want to block.
• Tap the contact name or phone number at the top of the conversation.
• Tap the "Info" button.
• Scroll down and select "Block this Caller".
• You won't receive notifications for messages or calls from blocked contacts.

For Android Users:

If you're using an Android phone, you can also enable settings to filter out unknown senders:

• Go to your phone's Settings.
• Select "Phone".
• Activate "Silence Unknown Callers" to block calls.
• You may also see an option for "Silence Junk Callers"; turn this on as well.
• Go to "Blocked Contacts" and tap "Add New" to enter specific numbers you want to block.

Alternatively, if you use the Messages app:

• Open the Messages app.
• Go to the menu.
• Select "Spam & Blocked".
• Tap "Blocked Contacts".
• Turn on the switch labeled "Unknown".

By following these steps, you can effectively filter out unknown senders and block specific numbers, reducing the number of unwanted political texts you receive.

Frequently asked questions