The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has released the Consumer Protection Guidelines 2010 for Public Comments and review.
The draft rules seek to protect consumers from exploitation by operators. According to the proposed regulations, companies should send promotional texts to your phone strictly between 7am and 7pm with your consent.
“No service provider shall employ any opt-out process in the delivery of marketing communications in Kenya. The following approach shall be used in seeking consent to subscribe any consumer into any SMS-based marketing scheme” the document states.
It has become commonplace for marketing institutions to bombard subscribers with promotional messages late into the night.
Read: Communication Authority Given Go-ahead To Spy Phones
All service providers have been asked to set up a “Do Not SMS, Do Not Call Register, Do Not Spam and Do Not Disturb” option in their systems.
They have also been asked to desist from delivering any spam or telemarketing calls from itself or third parties to any number in the register.
“Put in place a mechanism and procedures by which means Content Service Providers identified by its customers can be prevented from spamming the customers that object to receiving calls or SMS from those providers.” the draft reads.
The draft guidelines have been shared on the CA website for Kenyans to read and react before being passed.
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