The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has reviewed the spam regulation published in December 2016 and made amendments that align it more closely with the Data Privacy Law published by the Ministry of Transport & Communications (MoTC) last year.
The revised regulation is designed to reduce the number of complaints about spam, direct marketing, and cybercrime lodged with service providers and CRA, and enhance the overall experience of consumers in Qatar.
The amendment also takes into consideration that unsolicited electronic messages or spam messages continue to be a cause for frustration among many consumers in Qatar, considering the large number of complaints received on the subject, the CRA said.
Furthermore, some of these communications take the form of fraudulent e-mails, which claim to be from reputable companies and are designed to convince individuals to reveal personal information, it added.
The amended regulation sets out the particular obligations on service providers, senders and/or users of electronic communications for the purposes of direct marketing in relation to consumer privacy, personal data, and cybercrime, in accordance with the relevant regulatory frameworks in Qatar.
In line with CRA’s open and transparent regulatory processes, the CRA initiated a public consultation on the draft spam regulation (amended) and is inviting all stakeholders and interested parties to provide their comments in writing on the new regulation before October 1, 2017.
The CRA will also be hosting a workshop for stakeholders on September 17 to gather feedback assist service providers and the wider public in understanding their obligations.
Findings of a brief survey conducted via CRA’s social media channels provide a direct insight into consumer feedback on spam and how they want it to be addressed. These findings will also be taken into consideration while finalising the regulation.
“One of CRA’s core roles is to protect consumers and improve the experience of telecoms customers in Qatar. The amended regulation aims to do just that by bringing it more in line with the Data Privacy Law, thereby increasing consumer data protection and significantly improving consumer experience of communications services across Qatar.
“As ever, we follow a rigorous public consultation process that allows us to take into account, the needs of all stakeholders in an open and transparent manner,” said Amel Salem al-Hanawi, Consumer Affairs Department manager.
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