South Africa Launches National Opt-Out Registry to Curb Spam Calls

South Africa recorded 17.47 billion spam calls in the first half of 2026, propelling the nation into the top 10 most-spammed countries globally and prompting the National Consumer Commission to launch a national opt-out registry.

NCC Launches Registry as Spam Calls and SMS Rise

Truecaller figures show that spam calls rose by 25.2% during the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in the previous year. Simultaneously, spam SMS messages climbed 58.9% to reach 3.71 billion. In response to this volume, the National Consumer Commission launched the free National Opt-Out Registry on Wednesday. Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau stated that Section 11.3 of the Consumer Protection Act gives consumers the right to pre-emptively block unwanted direct marketing, a right that existed largely on paper for 15 years without a central database.

Acting NCC Commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu noted that South Africa joins jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Australia, Singapore, Nigeria, and several European nations in adopting national do-not-call lists. The rollout occurs in distinct phases. Direct marketers have from 15 September 2026 until December 2026 to register on the platform. Following this initial window, a database cleansing period runs from December 2026 to April 2027 at no cost to businesses. Enforcement of Section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act begins on 15 April 2027.

Legal Anomalies and Compliance Burdens for Businesses

She pointed out an anomaly between the Protection of Personal Information Act and the Consumer Protection Act. While the Consumer Protection Act permits direct marketing under specific rules regarding timing, POPI legislation mandates consent or an existing customer relationship via an opt-in framework. Burger-Smidt warned that the registry could create compliance burdens and costs for small and medium-sized enterprises. She also questioned whether centralizing large volumes of consumer contact data creates secondary cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

More than 800 direct marketers had registered out of an estimated 50,000 operating in South Africa, against a commission target of 20,000 registrations by the end of 2026 and 40,000 overall.

NCC Targets 30 Million Users for Registry Registration

While the NCC opened the registry interface, consumers registering early may still receive calls because participation among marketers remains low during Phase 1. The commission aims to attract at least 30 million active consumer users and intends to run nationwide awareness campaigns. Figures presented at the launch indicate that the proportion of spam calls answered by consumers dropped from 10.2% in the first half of 2025 to 7.8% in the first half of 2026, signaling rising consumer caution even before full enforcement takes effect.

Businesses failing to register during the designated window face potential contraventions of Section 11 when full statutory enforcement starts on 15 April 2027.