Goodbye spam calls?

People should register on opt-out’ registry to block intrusive’ efforts.

- Liesl Peyper

The department of trade, industry and competition wants South Africans to weigh in on the flurry of unwanted direct marketing messages they receive on a daily basis. Minister of the department Parks Tau recently published a set of draft regulations in the Government Gazette to better regulate unwanted direct marketing messages.

He said consumers are constantly exposed to "intrusive marketing" that has significantly increased over the years.

Section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act makes provision for the rights of consumers when goods are being marketed to them and gives them the right to privacy, including the right to refuse to accept direct marketing or to pre-emptively block any approach or communication from marketers, said Phetho Ntaba, spokesperson at the National Consumer Commission (NCC).