{"id":802065,"date":"2024-11-29T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=802065"},"modified":"2024-11-29T13:14:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T11:14:41","slug":"big-spam-call-changes-coming-to-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/802065\/big-spam-call-changes-coming-to-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Big spam call changes coming to South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) has amendments to unwanted directing marketing communication laws in South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Draft amended Regulations 4 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA 68 of 2008) have been opened for public comments by the DTIC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Regulation 4 of the CPA provides <strong>mechanisms to block unwanted direct marketing communication<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau published the amended Regulations in the Government Gazette on 28 October 2024, giving interested parties forty-five (45) days to submit their comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;South African consumers are constantly exposed to intrusive marketing, and this has significantly increased over the years,&#8221; said the DTIC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;With the Opt-Out Registry, direct marketers must be registered and should ensure that when contacting any consumer for direct marketing they do not contact any consumer that has registered a pre-emptive block on the Opt-Out Registry.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written comments should be submitted to&nbsp;the DTIC&nbsp;for the attention of Sibusiso Sasayi, Private Bag X 84; Pretoria; 0001; or by email to SSasayi@thedtic.gov.za.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Webber Wentzel said that the amendments will require direct marketers to implement several modifications to their business practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed changes mainly focus on focus on consumer consent, data management and compliance with new administrative requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Webber Wentzel said that the main proposed changes include that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct marketers must register annually on the opt-out registry, which will be maintained by the National Consumer Commission;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct marketers must &#8216;cleanse&#8217; their databases monthly by removing any consumer data associated with individuals who have registered a pre-emptive block. This ensures that businesses do not contact consumers who have opted out on the registry;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All electronic communications must clearly identify the direct marketer, including their name, electronic address, physical address, and contact number;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct marketers will need to develop systems to verify the opt-out status of consumers before initiating any marketing communications; and<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Direct marketers must maintain up-to-date records on the opt-out registry and ensure that their marketing practices reflect current consumer preferences as indicated in the registry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed regulations are open for public comments until Thursday, 12&nbsp;December&nbsp;2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The regulations can be found below: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NCC-Gazette.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of NCC-Gazette.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-6676ca3c-8904-4981-8f6e-8abba6ee6810\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NCC-Gazette.pdf\">NCC-Gazette<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/NCC-Gazette.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-6676ca3c-8904-4981-8f6e-8abba6ee6810\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Truecaller<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The potential new regulations comes amidst regulator concerns over Truecaller, the identification app that is used by many South Africans to avoid spam callers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is controversy over whether Truecaller may violate the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Legal experts argue that Truecaller\u2019s methods of collecting and handling data could breach the law. The Information Regulator has not formally investigated the app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Truecaller, on the other hand, said that its practices are lawful and prioritise user privacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The app allows users to identify unknown callers by accessing a global database of phone numbers, but its functionality depends on users granting it access to their contact lists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This potentially exposes others\u2019 personal information without their knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, its functionality depends on users granting access to their contact lists, potentially exposing others\u2019 personal information without their knowledge or consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-businesstech wp-block-embed-businesstech\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"5fI3Aw09qb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/801382\/warning-over-truecaller-and-other-spam-blockers-in-south-africa\/\">Warning over Truecaller and other spam-blockers in South Africa<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Warning over Truecaller and other spam-blockers in South Africa&#8221; &#8212; BusinessTech\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/801382\/warning-over-truecaller-and-other-spam-blockers-in-south-africa\/embed\/#?secret=M61qsp073F#?secret=5fI3Aw09qb\" data-secret=\"5fI3Aw09qb\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/802039\/changes-at-south-africas-biggest-shopping-mall-take-shape\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/801323\/top-neighbourhoods-for-south-africans-looking-to-buy-property-under-r1-5-million\/\">Top neighbourhoods for South Africans looking to buy property under R1.5 million<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department of Trade Industry and Competition plans to make major changes for direct marketers in South Africa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":802091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[26,9455],"class_list":["post-802065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-headline","tag-webber-wentzel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=802065"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":802138,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802065\/revisions\/802138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}