Happy Grasshopper Acceptable Use and Spam Policies
Acceptable Use Policy
Introduction
Happy Grasshopper LLC (“Happy Grasshopper,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides a platform and tools to enable clients (“Customers,” “Users,” or “You”) to organize, manage, and interact with their contacts via our Services.
This Acceptable Use Policy (this “AUP”) governs your access to and use of the Services, which includes without limitation any messaging or communications made through the Services. We reserve the right to amend, alter, or modify your conduct requirements as set forth in this AUP at any time. You must review and comply with this with AUP. This AUP may be updated from time to time, effective upon posting a revised copy to the Happy Grasshopper website at happygrasshopper.com. Customer’s use of the Services after changes to the AUP are posted shall constitute acceptance of any changed or additional terms.
Capitalized terms used in this AUP but not defined in this AUP have the meanings set forth in our Terms of Service available at Terms. Users are ultimately responsible for using the Services and You, Your Company, and Your Authorized Users are fully liable for any use of our Services in violation of all federal and state laws, provincial and territorial laws, regulations, governmental orders, industry standards or guidance (collectively, “Applicable Laws”) (including without limitation CTIA Policies and any fees, fines or penalties imposed by Carriers), as well as this Acceptable Use Policy.
Currently, our platform utilizes Twilio for calling and text messaging and Happy Grasshopper numbers are provided by Twilio and subject to Twilio’s policies. By using our Services, you agree to Twilio’s Messaging Policy and Twilio’s Acceptable Use Policy. Please refer to Twilio’s policies, guidelines, and articles which outline acceptable use of Twilio’s service which can be found here: Twilio’s US SMS Guidelines, Twilio’s Privacy Notice and help articles: U.S. Carrier Penalties for Non-Compliant Messaging, Forbidden message categories for SMS and MMS in the US and Canada. Additional requirements for specific Services, including any country specific requirements, are set forth at Twilio’s Service and Country Specific Requirements.
Prohibited Content
You agree that you will not use the Services to transmit or store any content or communications that contain prohibited content, including, but not limited to:
Inappropriate content that is illegal, harmful, unwanted, inappropriate, objectionable, confirmed to be criminal misinformation, or otherwise poses a threat to the public
SPAM (i.e., unwanted messages such as but not limited to unsolicited bulk commercial messages)
Fraudulent or misleading messages
Depictions or endorsements of violence
Profanity or hate speech
Messages related to cannabis or CBD (content must be legal across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia)
-
Other content not allowed by U.S. Carriers (e.g. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T) and Canadian Carriers, such as: high-risk financial services (payday loans, short term-high interest loans, third party mortgage loan, student loans, third party auto loans, cryptocurrency), third-party lead generation services, debt collection or forgiveness, “get rich quick” schemes, illegal substances, prescription medications, gambling, and certain categories without proper age gating procedures (i.e. firearms, alcohol, tobacco (vaping is prohibited))
Telephone Communication Activities (United States)
Users must comply with all Applicable Laws including, but not limited to:
The FTC Act’s “Truth in Advertising” Rules and Section 5 of the FTC Act 15 U.S.C. § 45
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227
The FCC Telemarketing Regulations implementing the TCPA, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, and FCC declaratory rulings and orders
Telemarketing Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act (the Telemarketing Act), 15 U.S.C. §§ 6101 et seq.
The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) implementing the Telemarketing Act, 16 C.F.R. §§ 310.1 et seq.
The National Do-Not-Call Registry established by the Federal Communications Commission, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, and the Federal Trade Commission, 16 C.F.R. § 310.4, which can be accessed at https://www.donotcall.gov
State Do-Not-Call Registries
State telemarketing and do-not-call laws and regulations that impose additional requirements as well as more restrictive requirements than the federal laws and regulations referenced above
State laws related to the recording of phone calls and ensure all proper consent to record is obtained prior to making any such recording
Applicable carrier guidelines (e.g. T-Mobile Code of Conduct) or wireless industry guidelines and standards including, without limitation, the CTIA’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices, the CTIA’s Short Code Monitoring Handbook, and the Mobile Marketing Association’s Consumer Best Practices (collectively, CTIA Policies)
Key Provisions:
Content Violation: After prior warning, $10,000 fee per violation for content violating carrier policies including spam, phishing, SHAFT violations (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco), and messaging that meets the Severity 0 violation as defined in the CTIA Short Code Monitoring Handbook.
Messaging Program Evasion: $1,000 fee for programs using filter evasion techniques, such as snowshoeing (spreading similar or identical messages across many phone numbers with the intent or effect of evading unwanted messaging detection and prevention mechanisms) and recycling numbers (releasing/purchasing new numbers), to dilute number reputation.
U.S. Carriers have more stringent policies for sending communications through their networks and services. Note that the consent requirements defined by the CTIA and Twilio’s Messaging Policy are in addition to the minimum requirements defined by the TCPA. In other words, consent requirements for sending SMS messages through U.S. Carrier networks exceed what may be legally required under TCPA. For more information on consent requirements, see Twilio’s Messaging Policy and Twilio’s Article on SMS Compliance and A2P 10DLC in the US.
Email Communication Activities (United States)
Users of the Services must comply with the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM), which means that each commercial e-mail sent using the Services must contain:
header information that is not false or misleading;
a valid physical postal address of the sender;
a clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation;
a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt-out of future communications from the sender;
an opt-out mechanism that complies with applicable law, which must be honored within ten business days of receipt.
Users are responsible for complying with the content prohibitions as set forth in CAN-SPAM.
Commercial Electronic Messages (Canada)
Users of the Services that send from or to Canadian computers and devices in Canada must comply with the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (“CASL”), and related regulations applicable to commercial electronic messages. A commercial email message (“CEM”) includes any email message, text/SMS message, or other electronic message that is sent to an electronic address and that has as even one of its purposes to encourage participation in a commercial activity. CASL requires consent to send a CEM and requires that all CEMs meet prescribed form, content, and disclosure requirements.
For detailed explanations, see Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) website. Guidance from the CTRC regarding consent can be found at: Interpreting the Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations; Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) Guidance on Implied Consent.
Users of the Services sending texts/SMS messages in Canada must comply with certain industry guidelines and mobile operator policies, such as the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association’s Canadian Common Short Code Application Guidelines (“CWTA Guidelines”).
Telecommunications (Canada)
Users of the Services must comply with all Applicable Laws including, but not limited to:
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules;
The Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules (the Rules) in Telecom Decision 2007-48 and additions and modifications to the Rules in subsequent decisions;
The National Do Not Call List Rules;
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) rules related to the recording of phone calls and ensure all proper consent to record is obtained prior to making any such recording; and
Provincial or territorial laws that impose more restrictive requirements than the federal laws and regulations referenced above.
Unsolicited Communications
Users are solely responsible for obtaining all necessary and appropriate rights, licenses and consents from those persons and entities with whom you message or otherwise communicate with via the Services, prior to commencing any such messaging or communication.
Users are prohibited from:
engaging in activity that involves the transmission of “junk mail” or unsolicited mass mailing or “spam”;
sending unwanted messages to individuals who have asked to stop receiving messages through any medium;
sending unsolicited email or text messages to email addresses or phone numbers that you do not know;
using the Services to send emails or text messages to contacts from purchased, rented, or borrowed lists;
using the Services to make telephone calls to phone numbers you do not know or contacts from purchased, rented, or borrowed lists;
sending email to lists that are likely to result in an excessive number of unsubscribe requests or SPAM complaints or notices, as determined by acceptable industry practices; or
sending text messages to phone numbers that are likely to result in an excessive number of opt-out requests that exceeds the permissible opt-out rate per messaging campaign, as determined by acceptable industry practices or carrier guidelines.
Additional General Prohibitions
Users are strictly prohibited from transmitting or storing content or communications that:
are patently offensive, such as content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
could be harmful to minors;
harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
promotes information that is false, misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
is offensive, inappropriate, pornographic, obscene, illegal, or otherwise objectionable to any person or entity;
contains restricted or password only access pages, or hidden pages or images;
provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone’s privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
solicits passwords or personally identifiable information for unlawful purposes;
contains unauthorized commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent such as advertising, solicitations, contests, sweepstakes, barter, and pyramid schemes; and
violates any applicable law, regulation, guideline or policy, including without limitation those relating to privacy or data security.
Network Security
The following are strictly prohibited:
submitting content that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or any other similar forms of malware;
using unauthorized scripting or automation tools;
using any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor, copy, or “scrape” web pages or the content contained in the Services or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent;
using any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Service;
decompiling, reverse engineering, or disassembling the software or attempting to do so; or
taking any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Services or our hardware and software infrastructure or that of any of our Licensors or Suppliers.
In addition, you covenant and represent that you will not use the Services for any purpose in violation of the law or this Acceptable Use Policy.
Suspension; Fines and Penalties
We may suspend or terminate Users access to the Services for violations of this AUP in its sole discretion.
Text messaging campaigns that are non-compliant with U.S. Carriers (e.g. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T) requirements may be subject to Carrier penalties for the offending traffic. If these penalties are assessed, they will be passed through by Happy Grasshopper to the User.
User shall be liable to pay any fines or penalties levied by third parties (e.g. Carriers or Communication Providers (such as Twilio, Bandwidth, and others)), and to fulfill any indemnification obligation owed by Happy Grasshopper to such third parties, as a result of User’s noncompliance with the Terms as set forth herein.
Reporting Abuse
Violations of this AUP, including any prohibited content or communications, may be reported to [email protected]. User agrees to immediately report any violation of this AUP to Happy Grasshopper and provide cooperation, as requested by Happy Grasshopper, to investigate and/or remedy that violation.
Spam Policy
Happy Grasshopper has a zero tolerance spam policy. Any customer found to be violating our anti-spam policy will immediately be cancelled, or contacted in an effort to guide messaging behavior towards compliance.
We all expect that the messages we want to receive will reach us, unhindered by filtering or other blockers. An important step Happy Grasshopper and our customers can take to make that expectation reality is to prevent and eliminate unwanted messages. Towards that end, we strive to work with our customers so that messages--whether SMS, MMS, chat, email, or voicemail drop--are sent with the consent of the message recipient, and that those messages comply with local laws and measures of fairness and decency.
This principle is central to Happy Grasshopper’s Terms and Conditions of Service.
Navigating the path to proper consent for message sending can be complex. We developed the Messaging Policy to help Happy Grasshopper customers partner with us to map out that path.
What Is Proper Consent?
Consent can't be bought, sold, or exchanged. For example, you can't obtain the consent of message recipients by purchasing a phone list from another party.
Aside from two exceptions noted later in this section, we need to meet each of the consent requirements listed below. If you are a software or platform provider using Happy Grasshopper for messaging within your application or service, you need to require that your customers adhere to these same requirements when dealing with their users and customers.
Consent Requirements
Prior to sending the first message, you must obtain agreement from the message recipient to communicate with them - this is referred to as "consent", You must make clear to the individual they are agreeing to receive messages of the type you're going to send. You need to keep a record of the consent, such as a copy of the document or form that the message recipient signed, or a timestamp of when the customer completed a sign-up flow.
If you do not send an initial message to that individual within 30 days of receiving consent, then you will need to reconfirm consent (see “Double Opt-in” below).
The consent applies only to you, and to the specific use or campaign that the recipient has consented to. You can't treat it as blanket consent allowing you to send messages from other brands or companies you may have, or additional messages about other uses or campaigns.
Alternative Consent Requirements: The Two Exceptions
While consent is always required and the consent requirements noted above are generally the safest path, there are two scenarios where consent can be received differently.
Contact initiated by an individual
If an individual sends a message to you, you are free to respond in an exchange with that individual. For example, if an individual texts your phone number asking for your hours of operation, you can respond directly to that individual, relaying your open hours. In such a case, the individual’s inbound message to you constitutes both consent and proof of consent.
Remember that the consent is limited only to that particular conversation. Unless you obtain additional consent, don't send messages that are outside that conversation.
Contact initiated by you to send informational content to an individual based on having a prior relationship
You may send an outbound message that provides information requested by the individual, or that can be reasonably expected by the individual based on your relationship. An example of such a relationship and message is a dentist reminding a patient of an appointment.
In addition to appointment reminders, other examples include receipts, one-time passwords, order/shipping/reservation confirmations, drivers coordinating pick up locations with riders, and repair persons confirming service call times.
The message can't attempt to promote a product, convince someone to buy something, or advocate for a social cause.
The individual must have knowingly provided their phone number to you, and have taken some action to trigger the potential for communication. Actions can include a button press, setting up an alert, making an appointment, or placing an order.
NOTE: The alternative consent requirements cannot be used for promotional content such as marketing, coupons, advertisements, notifications regarding a job opportunity, and sweepstakes, independent of whether the individual initiates contact, or you have consent for informational content of the type noted above based on a prior relationship.
Double Opt-in Consent
We require double opt-in consent in some limited use cases. Many of these use cases listed below generate the majority of complaints about unwanted messages which is why the burden of consent is higher.
Affiliate marketing including multi-level marketing - this is typically a marketing arrangement which an online retailer pays commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.
Lead generation services
Sweepstakes
Financial products, unless you are the financial institution directly offering the product. These include debt refinancing, short-term credit offers, and payday loans
Job alerts
Work-from-home offers
Double opt-in is a two step process:
First, the message recipient must knowingly provide consent to you or your customer prior to receiving any text message. That consent must be provided through an electronic signature or some other online sign-up form that makes clear to the individual they are agreeing to receive messages of this type.
Second, in your first text message to that individual, you must identify yourself and prompt the individual to confirm their consent.
For example, your first outbound message would be compliant if it included text similar to, “This is Company X. You recently signed up to receive text messages from us. Please reply YES to confirm or STOP to unsubscribe.” Only after you receive the confirmation “YES” may you send a follow-up message with information related to a topic listed above.
Identifying Yourself as the Sender
Every message you send must clearly identify you as the sender, except in follow-up messages of an ongoing conversation.
Message Recipient Opt-out
The initial message that you send to an individual needs to include the following language: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe,” or the equivalent using another standard opt-out keyword, such as STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, and QUIT.
Individuals must also have the ability to revoke consent at any time by replying with a standard opt-out keyword. When an individual opts out, you may deliver one final message to confirm that the opt-out has been processed, but any subsequent messages are not allowed. An individual must once again provide consent before you can send any additional messages.
Periodic Messages and Ongoing Consent
In some cases, you may want to periodically send messages to an individual who earlier provided proper consent. This practice is allowed, provided that your message includes a reminder to the individual about how to unsubscribe. If you send more than one message in a given month, you need to include the reminder in just one of those messages--not in all of the messages that you send in that month.
You must respect the message recipient’s preferences in terms of frequency of contact. You also need to proactively ask individuals to reconfirm their consent no less often than once every 18 months.
Age and Geographic Gating
If you are sending messages in any way related to alcohol, firearms, gambling, tobacco, or other adult content, then more restrictions apply. In addition to obtaining consent from every message recipient, you must ensure that no message recipient is younger than the legal age of consent based on where the recipient is located. You also must ensure that the message content complies with all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which the message recipient is located. Additionally, Happy Grasshopper’s Acceptable Use Policy bans sending any content that is offensive, inappropriate, pornographic, obscene, illegal, or otherwise objectionable, even if the content is permissible by law and appropriate age restrictions are in place.
You need to be able to provide proof that you have in place measures to ensure compliance with these restrictions.
Content We Do Not Allow
The key to ensuring that messaging remains a great channel for communication and innovation is preventing abusive use of messaging platforms. That means we never allow some types of content on our platform, even if our customers get consent from recipients for that content. Those content types include:
Anything that’s illegal in the jurisdiction where the message recipient lives. For example, we do not allow messages related to the sale of recreational or medicinal cannabis in the United States, because United States federal laws prohibit its sale.
Hate speech or harassment, or any communications from groups whose primary purpose is deemed to be spreading hate.
Fraudulent messages.
Malicious content, such as malware or viruses.
Any content that is designed to intentionally evade filters.
How We Handle Violations
When we identify a violation of these principles, we work with customers in good faith to get them back into compliance. To protect the continued ability of all our customers to freely use messaging for legitimate purposes, we reserve the right to remove access to the Happy Grasshopper platform for customers that we determine are not complying with the Messaging Policy, or who are not following the law in any applicable area.