South African consumers can now benefit from a new National Opt-Out register that will block unwanted direct marketing calls, SMS messages and other electronic marketing communications. The National Consumer Commission (NCC) unveiled the register on Wednesday as a free, state-managed system.
Phetho Ntaba, NCC spokesperson, says the register is being established in terms of section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act following the tabling of amendment regulations this year by Parks Tau, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.
Direct marketers must register on the system and clean their marketing lists monthly before launching a marketing campaign. The first phase, which involves registration, began on 15 September and runs until December 2026. The second phase, in which marketers have five months from December to April 2027 to clean their marketing lists for free, follows thereafter. From May 2027, consumers who have registered on the register will be able to block direct marketers in advance from sending unwanted marketing communications.
The NCC says demand for the register is high. According to Truecaller's 2026 South Africa Spam report, South Africans received 17.47 billion spam calls between January and June this year, while spam SMS messages increased by 58.9% to 3.71 billion.
Hardin Ratshisusu, acting commissioner of the NCC, says the register will promote responsible direct marketing and better protect consumers against unwanted calls, messages, emails and other electronic communications.
Print here to read more.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
