Truecaller, which many users download to identify who is calling them, has been accused of violating the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis follows complaints from South African companies and individuals that the app is violating the Act,\u201d Lake said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truecaller has proven wildly popular in South Africa because it warns users when they may be getting a call from a spammer or scammer who obtained their number unlawfully. South Africans had a right to protect themselves from spam harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Truecaller could be infringing on the rights of legitimate businesses, which must be allowed to contact clients who have agreed to let them do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The source of the problem is Truecaller\u2019s crowdsourcing mechanism for flagging spam, which is open to abuse by malicious users or competing businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She noted that the case touches on a broader issue, the balance between a business\u2019s need to reach new customers and the public\u2019s right to privacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truecaller charges businesses a fee of $590 (R10,400) per month to have their number whitelisted for 5,000 calls, working out to roughly R2.18 extra per call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the businesses that have complained about this charge is a small ISP that likened the practice to blackmail and extortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s direct marketing, a really tricky balance. On the one hand, businesses need a chance to make new sales, but on the other hand, as consumers, we don\u2019t want to be phoned all the time,\u201d Lake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investigation should be welcomed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/spam-truecaller-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShe explained that the Information Regulator enforces Popia and has issued guidelines on how direct marketing should be done responsibly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPopia basically says: we know you need personal data to be able to do your business, but if you\u2019re going to use it, you\u2019ve got to do it in a responsible way,\u201d Lake explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the regulator will check Truecaller\u2019s practices against the eight conditions set out in the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes informing people how their data will be used, ensuring the data is used securely, and not using more personal information than is necessary for the stated purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake stressed that the regulator has already taken enforcement action against companies that fail to follow the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Truecaller\u2019s case, the outcome will determine whether the platform complies with South African privacy laws and where that leaves the complainants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to assess it against those factors and come to a conclusion on whether they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re supposed to do in terms of the law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the investigation, Lake acknowledged the value of Truecaller\u2019s service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Truecaller delivers a really useful service, and they wouldn\u2019t be so prolific if they hadn\u2019t identified a gap in the market,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed out that South Africa never implemented the \u201copt-out\u201d registry for direct marketing that was promised under the Consumer Protection Act in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The absence of this registry, along with limited enforcement in the past, has allowed services like Truecaller to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Lake stressed that popularity and usefulness do not exempt the platform from compliance. \u201cI use it myself\u2026 but that doesn\u2019t mean that the platform doesn\u2019t have to make sure that it complies with South African data privacy laws,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that South Africa\u2019s laws are unique in that businesses, not just individuals, are afforded personal information protections, meaning companies also have the right to control how their details are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake sees the investigation as an opportunity to ensure compliance and maintain the app\u2019s role in helping people identify and avoid unwanted calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis should be a welcome investigation in the sense of making sure that it is fully compliant so they can continue doing their good work,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Africa\u2019s Information Regulator is currently investigating Truecaller following complaints from both companies and individuals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":835210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[20664,7075,853,11927],"class_list":["post-835199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-information-regulator-of-south-africa","tag-norton-rose-fulbright","tag-south-africa","tag-truecaller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835211,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199\/revisions\/835211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShe explained that the Information Regulator enforces Popia and has issued guidelines on how direct marketing should be done responsibly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPopia basically says: we know you need personal data to be able to do your business, but if you\u2019re going to use it, you\u2019ve got to do it in a responsible way,\u201d Lake explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the regulator will check Truecaller\u2019s practices against the eight conditions set out in the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This includes informing people how their data will be used, ensuring the data is used securely, and not using more personal information than is necessary for the stated purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake stressed that the regulator has already taken enforcement action against companies that fail to follow the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Truecaller\u2019s case, the outcome will determine whether the platform complies with South African privacy laws and where that leaves the complainants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re going to assess it against those factors and come to a conclusion on whether they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re supposed to do in terms of the law,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the investigation, Lake acknowledged the value of Truecaller\u2019s service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think Truecaller delivers a really useful service, and they wouldn\u2019t be so prolific if they hadn\u2019t identified a gap in the market,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She pointed out that South Africa never implemented the \u201copt-out\u201d registry for direct marketing that was promised under the Consumer Protection Act in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The absence of this registry, along with limited enforcement in the past, has allowed services like Truecaller to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Lake stressed that popularity and usefulness do not exempt the platform from compliance. \u201cI use it myself\u2026 but that doesn\u2019t mean that the platform doesn\u2019t have to make sure that it complies with South African data privacy laws,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She added that South Africa\u2019s laws are unique in that businesses, not just individuals, are afforded personal information protections, meaning companies also have the right to control how their details are used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake sees the investigation as an opportunity to ensure compliance and maintain the app\u2019s role in helping people identify and avoid unwanted calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis should be a welcome investigation in the sense of making sure that it is fully compliant so they can continue doing their good work,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
South Africa\u2019s Information Regulator is currently investigating Truecaller following complaints from both companies and individuals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":835210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[20664,7075,853,11927],"class_list":["post-835199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-information-regulator-of-south-africa","tag-norton-rose-fulbright","tag-south-africa","tag-truecaller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835211,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835199\/revisions\/835211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}