The Malaysia Mobile Technology Association (MMTA) said the ban has been in force since May 2023 in the MCMC’s attempt to curb scams via text message.

MMTA said credible entities, such as government agencies, financial institutions and other corporations, were exempted from the ban, subject to their individual brand name and short code being approved by MCMC.

These individual brand names and short codes, typically five to six digits, enable users to ensure that an SMS from the entity is legitimate.

“The MCMC has recently announced that, from Sept 1, this exemption will be revoked. Service providers will now be required to block prohibited content in all enterprise SMS application-to-peer messages entirely.

“MMTA has expressed concerns about this content prohibition by the MCMC, which will prohibit URLs, call-back numbers, and requests for information, drastically disrupting legitimate business communications to the public.

“We argue that while consumer protection is crucial, these sweeping restrictions could severely disrupt legitimate business communications and indirectly lead to economic uncertainty,” it said in a statement.

The association said such entities have relied heavily on URLs in SMS messages to inform users of delivery of e-invoices, appointment confirmations, password resets, and even logistics tracking.

It also said there have been fewer complaints of scams via SMS since URLs were banned in May last year, despite the exemption for legitimate entities.

“We hope the MCMC will collaborate with industry stakeholders to find a balanced approach that protects consumers while allowing businesses to continue delivering essential services.

“Our goal is to ensure that efforts to combat scams do not impede the growth and innovation of Malaysia’s mobile messaging sector,” MMTA said.