We have often told you about the events related to the Public Register of Oppositions which, we can clearly tell ourselves, does not work. Or rather it would be appropriate to say that it is not always effective, as the whole system is full of flaws.
Let me be clear: the initial premises were all correct: a computerized and digitized system which, by collecting the subscriptions of citizens, prevents private call centers from bombarding the subscribed numbers with calls for advertising purposes. This was supposed to be the Opposition Registerand that is, indeed, except that many users still complain about aggressive telemarketing experiences despite subscribing to the service.
Made the law, found the catch. In fact, the system is not effective for call centers that have their headquarters outside the European borders. Not only that, as a press release from the Ministry of Enterprise stated today, “There are still too many methods that allow companies to steal telephone numbers illegally. We need to strengthen the link between the inspection authorities, i.e. Agcom and the Privacy Guarantor”.
The Register of Oppositions does not work: the proposals to solve the problem
Adolfo Urso, minister of enterprises, discussed the problem in a hearing in the Chamber, emphasizing the urgency of a revision of the system.
“The system works as far as the regular market of consent collection and controls is concerned. However, alongside the regular market there is another irregular one, in which numbers are stolen in an illegitimate way and in which callers hide or modify their telephone numbers in order not to be called back. We need to strengthen the link with the institutions in charge of the inspection, I am referring to Agcom and the Privacy Guarantor. The attention of the ministry is maximum”.
The proposal of the PD: the opt-in system
An initial bill came from the opposition, on the PD side, and plans to introduce the sistema opt-in against commercial calls. The proposed opt-in system is exactly the opposite of the current model, ie the opt-out.
According to the opt-out system, a call center is entitled to make calls indiscriminately, unless there is explicit opposition from the user. According to this system, which we recall is the current one, registration in the Opposition Register (which represents the formal opposition) would be enough to prevent unwanted calls. However, as we have seen, the subterfuges are many.
The opt-in system proposed by the PD instead provides that call centers can make calls only and exclusively to users who have given explicit consent to telemarketing operations. In this system, the citizen would not even need to oppose spam calls, as he will not be able to receive them unless he has given explicit consent. Again though there are many ways to bypass the law. Suffice it to say that a touch on the smartphone is enough to provide formal consent today.
Maybe it’s time to switch everyone to the walkie talkie.