[imagesource:pexels]

We’ve all sat on a spam call having a little existential crisis, wondering if this is what our life has amounted to – right?

I’ve been irritated to such an extent by spammers that I have lost sleep thinking of all the ways I can put them off calling me ever again: asking them about their relationship with their mother, talking about the tokoloshe, speaking gibberish to make them think I am hexing them, banging pots and pans until they hang up. You’re welcome if I’ve given you any ideas.

But the good news is that the Information Regulator is fed up with the constant barrage of spam calls in South Africa and is finally taking action. They’ve decided that telemarketing counts as electronic communication and needs to be kept in check under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

The watchdog has already put its foot down, handing FT Rams Consulting its first enforcement order in February 2024 for spamming locals.

Pansy Tlakula, the chairperson, is particularly passionate about putting an end to this nonsense, per MyBroadband.

The real problem? Companies shouldn’t be phoning people to market their products unless they’ve first got permission. But many telemarketers are ignoring this rule, bombarding people with calls—even after they’ve said no thanks.

“If you decline the communication, they should stop, but they don’t stop,” said Tlakula, adding that she, too, is getting frustrated with the situation.

To address the situation, the Information Regulator published a direct marketing guidance notice that adds a telemarketing clause within Section 69 of POPIA. This will get telemarketing companies fired up in court fighting the new changes.

“The rules are very clear, but I think with direct marketing, my sense is that we’ll probably end up being in court,” said Tlakula.

“They will wait for the time when there is a complaint, and once we decide against them, they’ll probably take us on review and the issue of whether a telephone is electronic communication or not will come to the fore.”

Besides FT Rams Consulting,  the watchdog had identified 14 other potential offenders and plans to issue enforcement notices. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice can result in hefty consequences, including a fine of up to R10 million and jail time.

That sure does beat banging pots or talking about Jesus to get someone off the line.

The problem, however, is the sneaky loopholes that spammers can get around. While the Information Regulator is pushing for telemarketers to get consent before calling, there’s no rule that says how many times they can ask for that consent.

This means telemarketers could keep ringing South Africans over and over, just to get a response.

During a media briefing in September 2024, Tlakula even admitted there’s nothing stopping them from “calling you until they find you.”

“What is important is that that first call should be for obtaining your consent. Members of the public have to be educated on that,” she said.

She explained that when a telemarketer calls for the first time and jumps straight into trying to sell something, it’s up to the person on the other end to call them out for not getting consent first.

Even though, as she admits, using the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” links sent via direct marketing SMSes or emails is utterly futile. The system is broken but at least someone is trying.

[source:mybroadband]