It took five days to resolve the shutdown, prompting Republicans to worry that the same thing could happen this fall, as the president urges his supporters to vote, when the stakes will be much higher.
People familiar with the chain of events said Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T pointed to potential regulatory issues with the peer-to-peer messaging operation, which differs from automated text messages in that text messages are sent individually, rather than a massive explosion. But within Trump’s orbit, the episode has further fueled suspicions that big tech companies are seeking to influence the election. In recent weeks, the President has accused Twitter and Facebook of censoring conservative voices, and his first son, Donald Trump Jr., alleged that Gmail is sending reelection campaign emails to spam folders.
“A campaign’s email list and text messages are some of the most important assets they have in 2020,” said Eric Wilson, a Republican digital strategist who worked on Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign, adding that it was “Really very disturbing to see that such a major problem happened and to see that it was not resolved in a timely manner.”
Representatives of the telecommunications companies declined to comment for the record. But people close to Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T said the decision was not made by them, but by external administrators who they employ to monitor text messages and protect consumers from spam. They strongly denied that there was a partisan intention and say they were simply following the guidelines conveyed by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, a trade group that represents mobile phone equipment.
The organization declined to specify what the Trump campaign had done wrong, but said in a statement: “We hope that all senders, be they airlines, schools, banks or campaigns, will include clear language of exclusion and obtain prior consent before to send a text message. “
“These simple steps help protect consumers from spam and keep text messaging a trusted medium for everyone,” he added.
Democrats also use text messages in their campaigns, but Trump’s digitally focused re-election effort particularly emphasizes this. He has spent the past few years collecting cell phone numbers, including from those attending the president’s trademark protests. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has ensured that the reach of voters will be more digital, and focused on text messages, than usual.
This month’s operation was a dry test to determine if the text messaging program would be in trouble, and to avoid reprimanding Mitt Romney’s election day experience in 2012, when his voter turnout program voted lightly when people they were going to the polls. By fall, Trump’s political apparatus is seeking to send tens of millions of messages to his supporters for them to vote.
The problem was finally resolved after a series of conversations with the wireless companies and their external administrators. But the damage was done.
The Independence Day message was about getting the vote out, but the resulting shutdown of the campaign’s text messaging infrastructure also hampered donor reach. While Republican officials declined to estimate exactly how much they had lost in potential donations, they acknowledged that it was likely substantial. Trump took advantage of the long holiday weekend to accuse liberals of conspiring to tear down monuments, the kind of red meat message that generally ignites his small donor base.
Republicans call it the latest in a series of tech titans decisions that are hurting Trump.
Tim Cameron, a digital strategist who has worked for the Republican National Senate Committee and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, called the shutdown “odd”, especially as companies like Facebook and Lyft launch programs that encourage people to vote. this autumn.
“Everyone is working to get out of the vote, so watching telecommunications go down and preventing any campaign or organization from getting out of the vote is worrying,” added Cameron.
The Trump campaign has previously faced withdrawal of its texting tactics. Three Minnesotans filed a lawsuit alleging that the reelection effort sent text messages without receiving consent. A federal judge last month denied the campaign motion to dismiss the case.
The legal dispute centers on a 1991 federal law that aims to protect consumers from an avalanche of automatic calls and unwanted texts. But the change in technology has created ambiguities around the statute’s requirements, and companies interested in communicating with people via text message have asked the Federal Communications Commission to provide more clarity.
More recently, the FCC has ruled that peer-to-peer text messages do not require consent, as long as the text messages are sent individually and not by automatic dialing or automatic dialing.
Democrats have also run into trouble. Last month, two Minnesota residents filed a class action lawsuit against the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign over what they said were routine spam messages to which they had never consented.
“Peer-to-peer text messaging has quickly become a critical tool for Republicans and Democrats. Both sides agree, it will lead to more American voters, something very good for our country, “said Gary Coby, digital director of the Trump campaign.” There is a bipartisan commitment to continue working with mobile operators and the entire industry. of mobile messaging to ensure that the channel remains open and secure. “
It is not the first sign of tension between Trump and the country’s telecommunications heavyweights.
After failing to block AT&T from buying CNN-owned Time Warner last year, Trump called for a boycott of the wireless giant, tweeting that if “persons [stopped] using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes to @CNN. “
The president this spring applauded the retirement of veteran AT&T executive Randall Stephenson and tweeted, “Anyone who allows a garbage ‘network’ to do and say the things CNN does should leave as soon as possible. Hopefully the replacement be much better! “
Trump has yet to evaluate the closure of text messages. But Republicans acknowledge that it has left them bewildered.
“I understand that telecommunications may want to change the rules on how political campaigns operate on their platforms,” said Cameron. “But those changes should take place after the elections, and once they take effect when you are within a period of a few months before the elections, this is not the time to change them.”
