Avoiding Bluetooth Spam
June 9th, 2008
You might have noticed a story in today’s Irish Independent about the increased use of “mobile marketing via bluetooth”. Paring away the advertising speak, this is simply Bluetooth spam – an unsolicited message sent to your mobile. Email and SMS spam is prohibited by Irish law and if anything, the immediate and intrusive nature of Bluetooth spam makes it even worse. As one marketer points out:
The very intimate and personal relationship between a consumer and their mobile device makes marketing to them a very sensitive issue. When someone’s phone beeps, vibrates or otherwise begs for their attention it interrupts whatever they may be doing at the time.
So why is it currently allowed? The short answer is that the existing law appears to apply only where a message is transmitted over a “publicly available electronic communications network” – such as the Internet – with Bluetooth falling outside that definition.
What can you do if you don’t want to be bombarded with advertising on your phone? The short term solution is to turn the Bluetooth setting on your phone to non-discoverable / non-visible / private (the terminology varies). This isn’t a complete answer (it’s still possible, though harder, to detect phones using this setting) but will allow you to use headsets, etc. while eliminating almost all advertising.
Longer-term, however, it would be desirable to see the existing law dealing with spam extended to cover Bluetooth spam also, probably by reform of the Telecommunications Privacy Directive.
2 Comments Add your own
1. Digital Rights Ireland Av&hellip | June 16th, 2009 at 4:47 am
[...] Digital Rights Ireland Avoiding Bluetooth Spam Posted by root 52 minutes ago (http://www.digitalrights.ie) Jun 9 2008 paring away the advertising speak this is simply bluetooth spam an unsolicited message sent to your mobile and their mobile device makes marketing to them a very sensitive issue leave a comment name required email required hidden icons by kevin Discuss | Bury | News | Digital Rights Ireland Avoiding Bluetooth Spam [...]
2. Owen | August 4th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I have been reading your comments on another site as well – a Lisbon Treaty length discussion with someone from a Bluetooth Marketing Company.
These are my questions:
-Isn’t Advertising a necessary aspect of Capitalism & “Democracy” and, therefore, as unacceptable or acceptable as the system? A persuasive/ manipulative offer is made, one buys/ votes into it. Therefore, isn’t the issue: is any (media-led) manipulation acceptable?
-Isn’t a closer definition of SPAM: “too may offers that are not relevant to one’s perceived needs & desires”?
-Shouldn’t we all, especially the ad agencies, reconsider the nature of all advertising (and other media production)? How much, for instance, is advertising used to decrease rather than increase stress?
-Is it not “relevance” & “quality” that people want from advertising?
-Can advertisers, politicians & media gurus begin to conceive the human being as an entity deeper than a role (e.g. housewife) & affect “the propect” benevolently?
-Is it possible to adjust one ringtone settings to silent for unknown incoming Bluetooth messages? Then one would not be disturbed at a particular moment (like your young child screaming in the shopping centre!).
I’m also a bit confused as to how the technology works when/if Bluetooth/ Proximity Marketing becomes popular and 100 different offers might be made simultaneously.
If you think Bluetooth Marketing is being misused, wait for the mass use of immersive VR & haptic (artificial touch) technologies.
Good luck!
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