How many hours has it been since you were on the receiving end of an unsolicited spam SMS, or spam email? Did you know that South Africa has a national opt-out registry for that kind of thing? That’s true. You add your name to the national opt-out registry, and direct marketers (who are largely responsible for the spam SMS you got just a minute ago) aren’t allowed to contact you. The question is, who’s going to manage the list?

What? Wait. When did this happen? The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) came into effect on 1 April this year. It protects your right to privacy and lets you opt-out of direct marketing. It’s a beautiful thing, no?

Well, it’s a sad thing, really. Direct marketing has become big business. Our personal information is being traded and sold like a whore’s trinkets.

That last phrase may have been a bit hysterical.

Joe Botha is the CEO of TrustFabric, a local Cape Town tech start-up which launched in June after extensive trial periods. TrustFabric Connect gives you a way to define how businesses are allowed to contact them via email, phone, text message and snail mail. According to Joe, it’s an “Advanced Opt-out service”, which is aware of business relationships and is designed with the Consumer Protection Act and the Protection of Personal Information Bill in mind. Check out the explanatory video:

TrustFabric announced this week that they will bid to become the operator of the national opt-out registry. In short, they want to be the guys who look after your details, as someone who has exercised their right not to be contacted by direct marketers.

But there has been some controversy over who should operate the registry. The National Consumer Commission published a notice stating that they are
planning to name the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) as the operator of the national opt-out registry unless objections are submitted by 29 July.

Is there a conflict of interest in the DMA operating the opt-out registry? This question sparked a hive of Twitter and blogging activity last week.

Concerns have been raised about the security of the DMA’s systems. Earlier this year ITWeb reported that the DMA’s opt-out
database had been leaked. Last week it was reported that their website security had been compromised. So that’s a good start, then.

In short, the end of spam is on a knife edge. The next few weeks will determine whether our details go to the people who make a living by trading off them, or to a private agency whose business model relies on divulging your private information.