South Africa Tightens Spam Rules as Marketers Face Steep Fines

South Africa is giving consumers a new way to shut down unwanted marketing calls and messages, and companies that ignore the rules could face serious penalties.

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau gazetted amendments to the Consumer Protection Act on 15 April, creating a national Opt Out Registry administered by the National Consumer Commission. The rules require direct marketers to register and check their contact lists against the registry before sending marketing communications.

The system gives consumers the option to place a pre-emptive block on direct marketing, either from a particular company or across the industry. Marketers must also regularly cleanse their databases to remove consumers who have opted out.

The financial risk is not trivial. Companies that fail to comply can face an administrative penalty of up to R1 million or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is greater, according to the NCC.

The rules also require direct marketers to identify themselves in their communications and provide reliable contact details. That is aimed partly at the anonymous bulk messages and persistent calls that have made it difficult for consumers to know who is contacting them or how to make the calls stop.

For marketing businesses, the change means the old approach of keeping a large contact database and relying on individual complaints is becoming harder to defend. Companies now have to build the opt out check into their routine marketing process and keep their records up to date.

The NCC has made clear that the registry is not optional for direct marketers. Registration, renewal and database cleansing requirements form part of the new compliance framework.

For South African consumers, the real test will be whether the new system finally makes it easier to stop the calls. For marketers, the message from the regulator is considerably simpler: check the list before you call.