Action taken against organisations for breaching Do-Not-Call rules

Action taken against organisations for breaching Do-Not-Call rules

SINGAPORE - The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) has charged a tuition agency and begun investigations into organisations for allegedly breaching the requirements of the Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry, which took effect on Jan 2 this year.

Star Zest Home Tuition and its director will be charged in court on Jun 4 for offences relating to the DNC registry under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), said the PDPC in a statement today.

The commission said it received many complaints relating to unsolicited telemarketing messages allegedly sent by the tuition agency to numbers already registered with the DNC registry.

Any person or organisation found guilty of the offence of sending telemarketing messages to Singapore telephone numbers without checking the DNC registry will be liable to a fine of up to $10,000 per message sent.

Investigations have also been made in response to 3,700 complaints from members of the public against 630 organisations, including those from the property and insurance sectors.

The PDPC said that two organisations have since accepted offers to compound their offences in lieu of prosecution.

About 380 other organisations, against which there was a small number of isolated complaints, have been issued notices that warn them of the consequences of sending further unsolicited telemarketing messages.

In considering the appropriate enforcement action to be taken in each case, the PDPC said that it takes into account various factors including the seriousness of the breach, whether the sending of unsolicited telemarketing messages were isolated incidents, whether the organisation had been co-operative after being informed to stop sending such messages, and the number of complaints against the organisation.

PDPC chairman Leong Keng Thai said that the commission will continue to monitor compliance with the requirements in the PDPA, including those relating to data protection, once the Act is fully in force on Jul 2.

huizhen@sph.com.sg

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.