S.H.A.F.T. and Prohibited SMS Content in the US & Canada
| Category | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| High-risk financial services | Payday loans, Short term high-interest loans, Third-party loans (e.g., auto, mortgage), Student loans, Cryptocurrency | Third-party means originating from any party other than the one which will service the loan. |
| Third-party lead generation services | Companies that buy, sell, or share consumer information. | |
| Debt collection or forgiveness | Third-party debt collection, Debt consolidation, Debt reduction, Credit repair programs | “Third-party” means originating from any party other than the one who is owed the debt. For example, a hospital could send messages regarding bills for its own patients, assuming they provided opt-in to receive that messaging. Third-party debt collectors may send transactional messages that consumers have directly opted in to; however, they cannot use SMS as a channel to collect a debt. |
| “Get rich quick” schemes | Deceiving work-from-home programs, Risk investment opportunities, Pyramid schemes | This is different from outreach about employment as a result of compliant opt-in practices, messages from brokerages to their members, investment news alerts, or other investment-related messages. |
| Illegal substances/articles | Cannabis (United States), CBD (United States), Fireworks | Cannabis is federally illegal in the United States. Cannabis businesses will not be permitted to use SMS/MMS messaging in the US, regardless of message content. CBD is federally legal, but is subject to varying legal restrictions across US states, so US carriers do not permit messaging related to CBD. Fireworks are a regulated product and US and CA carriers do not permit messaging related to fireworks. |
| Prescription drugs | Drugs that require a prescription | Offers for drugs that cannot be sold over-the-counter in the US/Canada are forbidden. |
| Gambling | Casino apps, Gambling websites | Gambling traffic is prohibited in the US and Canada on all number types (Toll Free, Short Code, Long Code). |
| "S.H.A.F.T." use cases | Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco | While tobacco and alcohol traffic is prohibited on Toll Free, it is allowed on Short Code, or Long Code, as long as proper age gating procedures are in place. Firearms and vaping-related traffic is prohibited. |
Notice: Any use cases that violate BulkGate's Terms and Conditions are also not allowed on BulkGate's platform, regardless of number/sender type or destination country.
In addition to the prohibited messages, there are other rules to watch out for when it comes to SMS content, even if the use case is not prohibited. For example, US operators do not allow the use of shared public URL shorteners and they will be filtered.