Truecaller being investigated by SA’s information regulator

702’s John Perlman speaks with Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Regulatory at Werksmans Attorneys.

Listen below:

South Africa’s Information Regulator has received numerous complaints from companies and individuals about Truecaller.

Truecaller is an app which helps people identify phone numbers that are calling them, and block spam calls.

According to MyBroadband, companies have claimed that Truecaller has flagged their numbers on the platform and charged them a fee to be whitelisted, which has harmed their business.

These fees cost around $590 a month for 5,000 calls.

Burger-Smidt says Truecaller does serve a purpose in helping block spam calls, but it also stops legitimate businesses from reaching their customer base.

RELATED: 'SA one of the most scammed countries in the world' - Truecaller, Head of Comms

“Over and over again clients are confronted with having to enter an agreement with Truecaller, and then their number will be whitelisted. That does seem to raise concerns from a competition law perspective and a data privacy perspective.”

- Ahmore Burger-Smidt, Head of Regulatory - Werksmans Attorneys

She adds that the app may be violating some POPIA provisions, as the platform previously encouraged members to upload their address book in exchange for additional features.

Scroll up to the audio player for more.