Quick answer. Yes. RCS business messaging in the US is governed by the same layered framework as SMS: the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), enforced by the FCC and through private lawsuits; the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, enforced by the mobile carriers; and carrier and Google policies requiring brand and campaign registration. The CTIA guidelines explicitly cover SMS, MMS, and RCS in application-to-person contexts, so an RCS program must meet the same consent, disclosure, and opt-out rules as a text-messaging program.
In practice, regulation of RCS operates on three levels at once. Federal law (TCPA, plus the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule for record-keeping) sets the legal floor. Industry standards (CTIA) define what a compliant program looks like. And the carriers plus Google enforce it operationally through registration, verified-sender vetting, and use-case approval, if you’re non-compliant, your messages get filtered or blocked.
SimplyRCS is built around this stack: completing brand KYC, registering and getting campaigns approved, verifying the RCS sender, and enforcing consent and STOP/HELP handling are part of the platform, not an afterthought.
Key facts
- TCPA is federal law (FCC-enforced, with a private right of action); CTIA standards are carrier-enforced; 10DLC/Campaign Registry registration is required for the underlying A2P traffic.
- CTIA Messaging Principles cover SMS, MMS, and RCS alike for A2P programs.
- Marketing/promotional messages require prior express written consent; informational/transactional messages require prior express consent (a lower bar).