The Department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) has called on all stakeholders and interested parties to submit comments on the draft amended Regulations 4 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA 68 of 2008).
Regulations 4 of the CPA provides mechanisms to block unwanted direct marketing communication.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Parks Tau, published the amended Regulations in the Government Gazette on 28 October 2024, giving interested parties 45 days to submit their comments.
South African consumers are constantly exposed to intrusive marketing, and this has significantly increased over the years.
With the Opt-Out Registry, direct marketers must be registered and should ensure that when contacting any consumer for direct marketing that they do not contact any consumer that has registered a pre-emptive block on the Opt-Out Registry.
All interested parties, including direct marketers, legal experts, industry associations, and interested citizens are encouraged to submit their comments by no later than 15 January 2025.
Written comments should be submitted to the dtic for the attention of Mr Sibusiso Sasayi, Private Bag X 84, Pretoria, 0001, or by email to: SSasayi@thedtic.gov.za.
The draft amended Regulations can be accessed here: https://www.thedtic.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/NCC-Gazette.pdf - SAnews.gov.za
