Anti-Spam Laws Close to Enactment
About a year ago, we published an article about the proposed new privacy laws that were to be tabled before parliament. These laws are aimed at reducing spam, and regulating the use of personal information for marketing purposes. To read our earlier article about the new privacy laws proposed for SA, click on the link.
The new laws are that much closer to coming into being now, and they’re currently passing slowly through the legislature process, and are finally that much closer to becoming reality.
Existing Privacy Law Vs New One
The existing law protecting the public from unsolicited marketing is part of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, under which marketing emails are legal, provided that the sender uses a valid identity, and provides the option to unsubscribe from receiving such emails.
Under the new laws however, all forms of email marketing will need to meet stringent requirements to be considered legal.
This includes the fact that such communication may only be with existing clients who have given permission to be contacted in such a way, and that such marketing communication may only be made when promoting something similar to products or services already purchased.
Protecting Your Personal Details
This law will not prevent the sale of marketing databases, however certain regulations must be complied with, such as the specification of the purpose of such database collection. In other words, people collecting your data will be required by law to tell you that it is for marketing purposes, and must request your permission before selling your details to a third party.
According to the Act, “Personal information must be collected for a specific, explicitly defined and lawful purpose related to a function or activity of the responsible party.”
The new law will put important legal limits on the data which companies may gather about their clients and potential clients, and how they’re allowed to use that data for marketing purposes.
Meeting Global Standards
The new privacy laws will finally bring South Africa into line with the policies of many countries around the world in terms of limiting the marketing use that your information can be put to, and may, hopefully, make some inroads into reducing the amount of unwanted junk mail and spam that the electronic information age has inflicted us with.
All companies involved in direct marketing will be required to register with the government regulator, and will provide an avenue of recourse to people who are sick of their details being sold to any marketing company that wishes to purchase them.
