South African spam call crackdown problem
Telemarketers in South Africa can exploit a loophole in the country’s regulations that allows them to bombard citizens with calls until they answer. However, complaining about these spammers can be a challenging process for many.
To crack down on spam callers and direct marketers contravening the Protection of Private Information Act (Popia), the South African Information Regulator encourages citizens to lodge complaints against these offenders.
However, to lodge a complaint, South Africans must fill out a form downloaded from the Information Regulator’s website and submit it via email, fax, or office walk-in.
Given the number of spam calls the average South African may receive on an ongoing basis, this can be a troublesome process and may disincentivise them from reporting the spammer.
The watchdog told MyBroaband that it has received 135 complaints since April and 187 complaints during the previous financial year.
It said that while it is developing a complaints management system to make complaint lodging efficient and seamless, South Africans must use the means made available to them.
It also says that it is obliged to assist South Africans who are having difficulty completing the form, such as those without access to the Internet or smartphones.
The regulator recently revealed that it had noticed a lack of formal complaints about spam calls despite the volume of complaints in casual conversation.
Upon further investigation, the Information Regulator found this was because many South Africans believe they will be compensated for reporting companies that violate Popia.
They often abandon their complaints when they realise this isn’t the case.
However, the Information Regulator does not solely rely on complaints to launch its investigations.
In February 2024, it issued a direct marketing guidance note for public consultation that designates telemarketing as a form of electronic communication that must be regulated under Popia.
However, the IR told MyBroadband that it is in the process of finalising this guidance note that will outline how companies may use telemarketing to conduct their business.
No complaints about Truecaller
Due to flood of spam calls, many South Africans have adopted tools like Truecaller.
However, several legal experts warned that the popular caller identification app might have broken the law by previously encouraging users to upload their phone address books to its platform.
Truecaller asked users to upload their contacts in exchange for accessing certain features and attempted to shift the responsibility onto subscribers by stating in its terms and conditions that users must obtain the necessary consent.
However, Werksmans Attorneys regulatory practice head Ahmore Burger-Smidt warned that this potentially violated Popia in two specific ways.
Firstly, the law states that personal information may not be transferred outside of South Africa unless the foreign entity has binding corporate rules or agreements that comply with Popia.
Secondly, Burger-Smidt highlighted that it was entirely possible that non-subscribers did not know their data had been uploaded and that Truecaller was using it.
She said that although Truecaller’s terms and conditions try to pass the buck to users, it remains the party determining the mandate and process for collecting the personal information.
Therefore, Truecaller was still the “responsible party” in Popia parlance and cannot be absolved of its responsibilities simply because it collected the information from a subscriber.
Despite this, the Information Regulator recently told MyBroadband that it had not received any complaints about Truecaller breaching Popia.
Truecaller denied violating any laws and said the versions of its app on Google Play and the App Store don’t ask people to upload their address books.
It also told MyBroadband that there was a balance to be struck between people’s right to privacy, and the right to know who is calling you.
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