The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) invites comments on the draft amended Regulations 4 of the Consumer Protection Act, which provides mechanisms to block unwanted direct marketing communication.

Interested parties have been given 45 days to submit their comments. All interested parties, including direct marketers, legal experts, industry associations and interested citizens, are encouraged to submit their comments by no later than January 15, 2025.

"South African consumers are constantly exposed to intrusive marketing, and this has significantly increased over the year.

"With the Opt-Out Registry, direct marketers must be registered and should ensure that, when contacting any consumer for direct marketing, they do not contact any consumer that has registered a pre-emptive block on the Opt-Out Registry," the dtic says.

The amended regulations were published in the Government Gazette on October 28.