Popular call app under fire for alleged SA privacy violations
Truecaller is reportedly under investigation in South Africa for alleged privacy law violations. Here’s everything we know…
Truecaller, a popular caller identification app, is facing scrutiny from South Africa's Information Regulator for allegedly violating the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
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The investigation follows complaints from companies and individuals claiming the app's practices infringe on their rights, reports BusinessTech.
Truecaller's crowdsourcing mechanism for flagging spam has raised concerns about data privacy and the balance between the need for businesses to reach customers and the right individuals’ have to privacy.
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The app's popularity in South Africa stems from its ability to warn users about potential spammers and scammers.
However, legitimate businesses have raised concerns about being mislabeled as spam, affecting their customer reach and sales. Truecaller's practice of charging businesses a fee to whitelist their numbers has also been criticised, with one small ISP likening it to blackmail and extortion. The fee of $590 (R10,400) per month for 5,000 calls translates to roughly R2.18 extra per call.
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The Information Regulator will assess Truecaller's practices against the eight conditions set out in POPIA, including informing users how their data will be used, ensuring secure data usage and limiting data collection to what's necessary. The regulator has already taken enforcement action against companies that fail to follow the rules.
The outcome of the investigation will have implications for Truecaller and other similar apps operating in South Africa. Lake acknowledges the value of Truecaller's service but emphasises that popularity and usefulness don't exempt the platform from compliance.
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South Africa's laws are unique in that businesses, not just individuals, are afforded personal information protections.
The absence of an "opt-out" registry for direct marketing has allowed services like Truecaller to thrive, but Lake stresses that this doesn't justify non-compliance.
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