From 27 July the new public register of oppositions will be active, which will allow users to oppose the use for advertising purposes (telemarketing) of the telephone numbers they own. Phones included. Thanks to the service it will be possible to block the processing of personal data present in public telephone directories by operators who have access to them. The novelty in the Official Journal is that the Register is extended to include public numbers not in the list. On 13 April, the application of the Registry came into force to extend the application to mobile phones. As a rule, telemarketing companies were required to comply with the new measure by 31 July, which in fact could prevent them from contacting potential customers without consent by telephone.
How to register in the Register
You can register for free at the Registry in 4 modi. However, a necessary condition is that you are the holder of a telephone number present in public telephone directories (not company lines, from what we understand): by filling in a module on site of the same Registry; with a call to the number 800265265, made by the telephone line for which registration is requested; with a mail, in which the applicant must send a form with the details of the telephone number to be registered, proving that he is available (in short, that he is the holder of the contract); with a registered letter. Unwanted calls will become illegal within 15 days of entering the number in the Register.
Fines for those who do not comply
The telemarketing operator who uses the data in the public telephone directories is required to check the lists of potential contacts with the public register of oppositions, through a series of services available on the register’s site. In the event of violations of the Register, according to the law, operators risk very high fines: in fact, administrative penalties of up to 20 million euros are envisaged or, for companies, up to 4% of annual turnover.
Risks
The norm does not necessarily work. The first risk to its success is that the tightening would not apply to call centers outside Italy. Then there are operators who move on the border of legality and scam attempts by telephone. It is difficult to think that the measure can also stem these phenomena. In any case, by subscribing to the register, the user will have all consent to the use of personal data given in the past reset. This should ensure some protection from new phone calls.
However, it will not be a definitive solution. As soon as you accept the use of your data for commercial purposes again, the phone calls will resume. So you will need to re-enroll in the register, which you can do as many times as you want.
What if the unwanted calls continue?
A final risk is that the registration in the Register may not be of little use and that unwanted phone calls continue even after. To defend oneself, it is necessary to submit a report or a complaint to the Guarantor for the Protection of Personal Data, which can order the immediate cessation of the processing of data that has been considered illegal and sanction the relative owner.
Here, too, it won’t be easy: the reason for the high number of harassing phone calls is that companies can call any number if they have been given consent by the user in some way. The number one rule remains: protect their data and put a stop to the consents to their use, often the result of a gesture made quickly and over-thinking but with unpredictable and difficult to stem consequences.