Regulator zooms in on telemarketing phone calls

Chairperson, Pansy Tlakula, briefed the media on Wednesday on the progress made on the establishment of the regulator and the work carried out thus far.

The regulator was created in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act, Act 4 of 2013.

It has a budget of R19 million for the 2017/18 financial year.

The body is mandated to create regulations, guidelines, codes of conduct and notices with regards to protection of personal information and access to information.

Although the regulator is not yet fully operational, it has to date received 107 complaints relating to the unlawful processing of personal information and access to information.

Tlakula says an analysis of the complaints received reveal that a majority of it relates to the following industries: banking, insurance and telecommunications. 

"It should be noted that most of these complaints relate to direct marketing through unsolicited electronic communications," she says.

The regulator was cited as the Seventh (7th) respondent in the Constitutional Court Case of the Black Sash Trust vs Minister of Social Development and others.

The court held amongst others, that the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is under a duty to ensure that the payment method it determines "contains adequate safeguards to ensure that personal data obtained in the payment process,  remains private and may not be used for any purpose other than payment of the grants" and "precludes a contracting party from inviting beneficiaries to 'opt in' to the sharing of confidential information for the marketing of goods and services."

"The Regulator is continuously monitoring the implementation of the aspect of the judgment relating to the processing of personal information of grant beneficiaries by CPS. In this regard, the members have held separate meetings with CPS and Black Sash" says Tlakula.

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