Marketing companies could face HK$1 million fines and prison time for cold calling Hongkongers who just want to be left in peace
- Proposed changes to regulations would see phone users able to opt out of receiving calls
- But government has not yet decided which authority would be responsible for enforcing new laws, or when they would take effect
Telemarketers will face fines of up to HK$1 million and five years in prison for using automated means to obtain telephone numbers and lure customers, as Hong Kong revealed on Tuesday a regulatory regime on nuisance calls.
Revealing more details on its proposal to set up a do-not-call register, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau announced that phone users who do not wish to receive person-to-person marketing calls could indicate their preference in the system and marketers would need to strictly follow that list.
The bureau said those who did not comply would face fines and even prison under two major offences, but the government had yet to decide which authority would enforce the proposed laws and when they would take effect.
“We are closely working with the Department of Justice, we will hope to get the laws passed as soon as possible if we get the nod from lawmakers,” a spokesman of the bureau said.
Since 2007 Hong Kong has had an established do-not-call register that protects listed numbers from commercial electronic messages, including voice recordings, but direct person-to-person calls have been exempted.
