Enforcement Actions Commenced Against Singapore’s New ‘Do Not Call’ Provisions
Background
Under the requirements of Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA), the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) is the enforcement agency tasked with the responsibility of monitoring compliance with the PDPA.
One of these provisions includes the setting up of a Do-Not-Call (DNC) register, which took place on January 2, 2014. Individuals and organizations can list themselves on the DNC register in order to opt out of receiving certain kinds of marketing communications.
How the DNC Register Works
The DNC register is composed of three separate registers:
- the No Voice Call register;
- the No Text Message register; and
- the No Fax Message register.
The DNC registry is designed to target telemarketing calls and messages. Individuals and organizations can still choose to receive marketing messages from certain organizations by providing clear and unambiguous consent.
Certain categories of messages are not covered by the DNC registry, including political messages, charitable or religious messages and messages sent by government agencies.
Breach of the DNC provisions can result in a fine of up to S$10,000 per message, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both, and in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding S$1,000 per day or part thereof of the continuing offence.
Enforcement Actions
The PDPC has begun to take enforcement action against violators of the DNC provisions and has issued two fines to date.
Comment
The PDPC is proactively enforcing the DNC provisions to ensure that the DNC registry becomes an effective mechanism to protect Singaporean consumers. This conveys a clear message that the PDPC is serious about cracking down on DNC related offences and will continue to investigate and charge violators to safeguard individuals and businesses from unsolicited telemarketing.
If you have any questions regarding this update, please contact the Sidley lawyer with whom you usually work or
Yuet Ming Tham
Hong Kong/Singapore
+852.2509.7645/+65.6230.3969
yuetming.tham@sidley.com
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