If you have received a political text or call in recent weeks, you may be wondering how to make it stop, or what you can do to prevent them in the future.
One thing that you may have heard of is the “National Do Not Call Registry,” which is an opt-in list created and run by the federal government. Registered telemarketers are legally not allowed to contact anyone on this list for sales purposes, and can face heavy fines for ignoring it.
There is one notable exception: political calls and texts. This means that campaigns or affiliated groups can contact people through calls or texts regardless of whether they consented to it, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
However, contacting people with robocalls and robotexts is still not allowed, even for political purposes, according to the FCC.
Robocalls and robotexts are done using a device called an autodialer. Because of this, people have to give their consent before they’re contacted on a cell phone, even when the nature of the call is political.
People can still receive robocalls on landlines without consent, however, according to the FCC.
How to opt out
If you get a political text and you want to prevent any future communications from the number, you can opt-out by texting “STOP.” The FCC said campaigns must honor this.
Legitimate companies that violate the rules can face a fine of more than $50,000 per call, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
You can also report the sender by forwarding the texts to 7726 or “SPAM.”
If you’re looking for another option to reduce the clutter in your text inbox, CNET suggests changing your phone settings to filter out all unknown senders. On the downside, you might end up missing text reminders for doctor’s appointments or restaurant reservations.