SINGAPORE : The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) is seeking public feedback on the proposed scope and implementation of a national Do-Not-Call Registry.
This follows strong support for such a registry after views were sought recently in a public consultation exercise conducted from September 13 to October 25.
The registry will allow individuals to opt out of marketing calls, SMSes, and fax messages by registering their phone numbers.
The proposed registry suggests individuals register their phone number through a toll-free number or online.
It will be a free, one-time registration, and will take a month for messages to be blocked.
The toll-free number will be outfitted with a system that automatically detects the phone number that placed the call through Caller ID.
It can also apply to businesses that wish to register their business numbers with the Do-Not-Call Registry.
Organisations will have to send a list of numbers to the Do-Not-Call operator, who will then return the list with registered numbers removed.
The exception is if the individual gives the organisation explicit consent to be contacted or the organisation has an existing business relationship with the individual.
MICA is also proposing that organisations periodically check that the phone number they are contacting is not registered on the Do-Not-Call Registry, and organisations will have to pay an annual subscription fee to do so.
Some organisations - like PropNex, which employs about 100 telemarketers - see the proposed registry as increasing their costs.
Mohd Ismail, CEO of PropNex, said: "With such new (measures), we will have to find processes, systems to be in place and that will increase the cost of doing business. I am quite sure people would start to look at other alternative mediums which will be emails, door-to-door knocks or flyers. So where do we stop? Are we going to say the next time, email, we must get a list before we send? This is where the business people will have to be more creative to reach out to end users."
DBS said it is reviewing the proposal and will work to strike a balance in its customer outreach.
A DBS spokesperson said in an email statement: "Customer privacy is important to us and we applaud the initiative to provide consumers with greater privacy protection. There are many reasons for contacting a customer, ranging from business or regulatory needs to marketing efforts.
"We are reviewing the proposal and will be working to strike the appropriate balance in our customer outreach. Currently, DBS already utilises opt-in channels such as our mobile apps, DBS Indulge and DBS Shopper to communicate dining and lifestyle promotions to our customers who have downloaded the apps."
One of the proposals for the registry is for organisations to ensure that their phone numbers must be displayed, which means that individuals can't receive calls from blocked numbers.
Most people Channel NewsAsia spoke with welcomed the move.
One person said: "Sometimes you receive an unknown number and then you don't know who is call you."
Another commented: "There is nothing more annoying than getting some telemarketing people calling up and then they don't really identify themselves properly."
A third added: "If possible, people like us should have some facility to log in and to specify what are the exceptions that we want to have."
Action will be taken by the Data Protection Consumer against companies that breach the registry requirements.
This could be a fine of up to S$1,000 for every phone number contacted.
Members of the public can submit their views at www.mica.gov.sg/DNCconsultation by November 28.
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