Israel's anti-spam law for business owners: when you may send SMS and email to customers

What the anti-spam law is

What everyone in Israel calls the "spam law" is section 30A of the Communications Law (Telecommunications and Broadcasting). The section deals with sending an "advertisement" in four ways: fax, an automatic dialing system, an electronic message (like email) and a short text message (SMS).

The basic rule: you do not send an advertisement in these ways without the recipient's explicit, prior consent, in writing. The law adds that consent can also be given in an electronic message or in a recorded call.

And what about WhatsApp?

The law does not name any app. It defines an "electronic message" as a message sent over the internet to a recipient, which can be stored and retrieved on a computer. That is a broad definition. The safe way is to treat an advertising message on WhatsApp like one by email, and to ask a lawyer before you rely on another reading.

What counts as an "advertisement"

By the definition in the law, an advertisement is mainly a message distributed commercially whose purpose is to encourage buying a product or service, or to encourage spending money in another way. The definition also includes a request for a donation and propaganda distributed to the general public.

The line is the purpose of the message. Once a sale, a discount or a gift goes into a service message, it already looks like advertising, even if most of the message is about opening hours.

Consent: explicit, prior and in writing

These three words do all the work. "Explicit" means the customer said yes to the advertising itself. Agreeing to general terms of use is not enough. "Prior" means before the first message. "In writing" means you have a record.

• A separate box for advertising, not ticked in advance, is the clear way to show that the customer chose.
• Joining a club, giving a phone number for an appointment, or getting a receipt by email is not consent to advertising.
• Keep when the consent was given and in what wording. If you ever need to prove it, that is what you will be asked for.
• The law allows one approach to a business with an offer to agree to receive advertising. That permission applies to a recipient that is a business, not to a private customer.

The exception for existing customers

The law allows sending advertising even without consent, but only when all the conditions in subsection (c) are met:

1. The customer gave you their details while buying a product or service, or while negotiating a purchase, and you told them at that time that the details would be used to send advertising from you.
2. You gave them a chance to say that they refuse to receive advertising, and they did not do so.
3. The advertising relates to a product or service of a similar kind to what they bought.

Note the word "all". If one condition is missing, the exception does not apply. A customer who gave a number only to join the card, and did not hear that they would get advertising, is not covered by the exception. Do not rely on it without advice.

What a proper message looks like

Even with consent, the message itself must meet the requirements of subsection (e). The details must appear prominently and clearly, without misleading.

Refusing: at any time and free of charge

Someone who agreed, or who falls under the exception, may at any time say that they no longer want advertising, all of it or of a certain kind. The refusal costs nothing except the cost of sending it, and the recipient chooses whether to send it in writing or in the same way they received the advertising.

Another detail that is easy to miss: in an ongoing deal, like a subscription, the law treats ending the relationship as a refusal. A customer who cancelled a subscription should not keep getting advertising.

What happens in a breach

Breaching the section is a civil wrong. Someone who knowingly sent advertising against the section is exposed to "exemplary damages": the court may award, without the recipient proving harm, up to 1,000 new shekels for each message.

The law assumes that whoever sent against the section did so knowingly, unless they prove otherwise. And in some cases there is no defense at all, for example when the message was sent after the recipient had already asked to stop. Beyond that, the section also sets a criminal offense, and a duty of supervision on managers in a company.

What this means for a loyalty club

1. Joining the club is not consent to advertising. Ask separately.
2. Send advertising only to members who agreed to receive it, and respect every request to stop, even if it came by word of mouth at the counter.
3. A service message stays a service message. Do not put a sale in it.
4. Do not buy lists and do not send to friends of friends. The consent belongs to the recipient themselves.

A one minute check before every send

• Does the message have a sale, a discount, a gift or an invitation to buy? If so, it is probably advertising.
• Did everyone on the list agree to receive advertising, and has none of them asked to stop since?
• Does the word "advertisement" appear at the start of the message, and in the subject line of an email?
• Is there the business's name and a simple way to ask to stop?
• Does the person who handles requests to stop know how to do it the same day?

How Shortip does it

• When joining, consent to advertising is a separate box that is not ticked in advance. You can join without ticking it.
• The customer is in control: they can delete the card or ask for no advertising.
• Shortip does not send advertising by SMS to your customers.
• A service notice like "Closed today" reaches the card in the wallet, once a day, with no sale and no discount.
• The verification code when joining is sent only when the customer asked for it, and it has no other content.

Frequently asked questions

This article is not legal advice. It summarizes the wording of section 30A as of its update date. For a question about your business, ask a lawyer.