Govt proposes extending ban on telemarketing of mobile phones

The government on Thursday submitted a proposal to parliament with the view to prolong for a further three years the temporary provisions concerning a prohibition on telemarketing of mobile phone connections and governing confidential processing of radio communication traffic data for use in trials.

The temporary ban on telemarketing of mobile phone connections would be prolonged in its current form as of 2 July 2021 and would continue until 1 July 2024, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications in a press release.

The ban on telemarketing of mobile phone connections seeks to protect consumers from disruptive marketing practices.

The current marketing ban only allows direct marketing of mobile phone subscriptions to a consumer by telephone when the consumer explicitly requests such marketing.

The ban does not apply to existing mobile phone customers of a telecommunications operator. Telemarketing of subscriptions was first banned in 2012.

Provisions governing the definition of radio communication traffic data and the confidentiality of radio communications would also be prolonged in their current form from 21 June 2021 to 20 June 2024. Radio communication traffic data include the time and place of communication.

Regulation accommodates the need to avoid compromising the fundamental right to protection of private life so that anonymised traffic data could not be used to identify and track an individual, for example.

Data protection aspects, such as safeguarding the confidentiality of communications, and protecting personal data and private life, normally extend not only to the content of messages but also to electronic communication traffic data.

A preliminary debate will be held on the bill and then it will be referred to a parliamentary committee and reconsidered in a plenary session after the committee reports its findings.