South Africans could soon have greater control over unwanted marketing calls, SMSes and emails through a planned National Consumer Commission (NCC) direct marketing opt-out registry.
Consumer journalist Wendy Knowler says the proposed registry could provide consumers with a formal mechanism to stop unsolicited communications from marketers.
Direct marketing is broadly defined under the Consumer Protection Act as unsolicited communication sent directly to consumers, including phone calls, text messages and emails promoting goods or services.
Knowler says consumers who register their details on the opt-out system will have their information removed from marketers’ databases.
Marketers will reportedly have 30 days to comply once a consumer’s details have been added to the registry.
The NCC has the legal authority to take action against marketers who fail to comply with consumer protection requirements.
The planned registry comes amid concerns over rising levels of spam communication. Knowler says spam calls increased by 25% between January and June this year, while spam messages rose by almost 60%.
However, the proposed system has faced concerns from parts of the direct marketing industry. Knowler says marketers will reportedly be charged 12 cents per record to remove consumers who have opted out of direct marketing from their databases.
The industry has raised concerns that the additional costs could contribute to job losses.
Meanwhile, NCC representative Phetho Ntaba says the success of the system will depend on cooperation between consumers, businesses, the commission and regulatory authorities, including those outside South Africa.
Ntaba has urged consumers to be aware of the services they have subscribed to, particularly when dealing with service providers based locally or internationally.
The NCC is also engaging with regulatory authorities in other countries to address direct marketing involving international service providers. Ntaba says overseas authorities have already expressed interest in the planned registry following publicity about the initiative.
The commission is expected to announce the official launch date and provide details on when consumers will be able to register their direct marketing preferences.