Spam fight in South Africa Summary: ISPA’s Spam Hall of Shame causes some companies stop to spamming local Internet users, but more legislation is needed for effective spam policing in South Africa In September 2008 the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) launched their Spam Hall of Shame – an initiative which the organization hoped would fight spam in South Africa. This “Hall of Shame†is a constantly-updated resource which lists known e-mail spammers and e-mail address resellers. According to ISPA General Manager Ant Brooks, the Spam Hall of Shame initiative has had a positive effect on spam in the country. Brooks said that numerous companies which appeared on the list have agreed to ISPA’s e-mail guidelines to be removed from the Spam Hall of Shame, and typically stick to the agreement. “The number of people who are asking to be removed from Spam Hall of Shame is increasing all the time,†said Brooks. “We get requests every one or two weeks.†Some companies which have been listed on the ISPA Spam Hall of Shame have tried to fight their listing legally, but without any success. One company unsuccessfully lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission which threw out the case. Another company threatened legal action against ISPA, but this also came to nothing. Fighting Spam in South Africa It is good news for consumers that ISPA’s Hall of Shame has some success in the fight against spam as South Africans do not have many realistic avenues to complain about spam. While there are some initiatives which will aim to fight spam – including the Direct Marketing Association of SA’s (DMASA) opt-out register – consumers typically have little choice other than marking e-mail as spam when they receive unsolicited messages. ISPA is however lobbying to improve the fight against spam, and has recently urged lawmakers to heed the interests of consumers when debating anti-spam provisions in the Protection of Personal Information Bill. ISPA said that the legislature should retain the clauses that require marketers to get explicit ‘opt-in’ from consumers before sending them electronic marketing messages. ISPA said that laws such as the Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act in their earlier drafts demanded that companies get permission from consumers before sending them marketing material using electronic channels such as e-mail and SMS. However, the laws were finally passed with much weaker ‘opt-out’ provisions following aggressive lobbying by the direct marketing industry. These softer clauses have not proven to be in the interest of consumers, said Ant Brooks, General Manager at ISPA. In the mean time consumers can report spam which originates from an ISPA member’s network to their ISP. This may result in the company being listed as a spammer in the Hall of Shame, and hopefully reduce the likelihood of them repeating the offence. Biggest spammers in South Africa South African spammers identified in the latest ISPA Hall of Shame report: * Dynamic Seminars * New Heights 1268 / Jaco Derksen * SA Webs (not SA Web Design, see note below) * Brain Power * Ketler Presentations * Worldclass Mobile aka Marketing House * World Class Products * Kaleidoscope Advertising and eMarketing * The Peer Group * The SA Consumer Initiative * Tradingrooms 4 SA * King Fin Wealth Solutions * Pinny Barak – Bizweb * Promo Mail SA * No More Debt / Debt Free Living * Drive Car Sales / Justgroup-Africa * Jake The Transporter * Eddy Wines * Greycell cc / Bad Credit Loans * Small Business Verification Services * Marketing Now * Dial a Contractor * Schools Are Us * Organizational Learning Analytics * Body and Mind * SA Passport * Front Foot Events * Plum Solutions * Greenviewmarketing * Brett Williams * SA Coupons * Cybertek * Eezi Marketing * Craig Sneeden C2IT * LabaSurance * Winners Circle * Xcluzive Eyez Optometrists * Corporate Cashflow Solutions * WorkFromHomePaidSurveys.com * Kevin Croft * Tom Goldgamer * Top In * Master Lists * Bulk eMail services * IITA * Blue Berry Advertising * Richard Catto * Jimmie Somers * South African Centre for Health Management cc * African Experience Golf Tours * FiF 247 Information Services Address resellers identified in the latest ISPA Hall of Shame report: * Mark Tribelhorn * Affordable Construction * Rain Marketing * Peter Van Wyk – Media Online (not The Media Online, see note below) * Mandy Simone * Verosha Bisnath * Timothy Heston * Jonathan Schoeman: BP Media & SMSCity * ListSA * Email Marketing South Africa * Web Marketing Today * All Things SA * Data Corp SA * Trinity Designs * Trevor Jones * MailMagic * DataInc * Jannie Pretorius, Group3Properties * Bulk eMail services * Silent G * Michael Fraser, Pink Soda Marketing * Graham Naude, Eezi Marketing * Marketing Now * Abram Morake * Tony Sham, Interactive Direct * Aqua Direct Marketing * Master Lists SA * Bulk eMail services * Master Lists SA * Tony Baker – SA Data Marketing Source: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/33740-spam-fight-in-south-africa.html
