DNC registry exemption aims to give consumer flexibility

[SINGAPORE] The eleventh-hour exemption for part of the Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry was an attempt to meet the preferences of "as many consumers as possible", Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Communications and Information, told Parliament yesterday.

At the same time, this exemption turned out to be "much narrower in scope and application" than the one originally proposed by businesses, Mr Wong noted.

In December, the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) issued an exemption order that allowed firms to send text and fax messages to existing customers without having to check the registry, as long as an option to unsubscribe to the messages was offered. For this exemption to stick, the firm must have an ongoing relationship with the person in question.