{
  "id": 12844223,
  "title": "Opt-out registry arrives as marketers go social",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/opt-out-registry-arrives-as-marketers-go-social",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-08T10:15:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ITWeb",
    "slug": "itweb",
    "url": "https://www.itweb.co.za/article/opt-out-registry-arrives-as-marketers-go-social/G98YdqLGAxNMX2PD"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The National Opt-Out Registry, a long-awaited system designed to protect South Africans from unwanted direct marketing, is set to launch in April 2027. After being proposed in 2008 and first mooted 16 years ago, the opt-out registry will give consumers a single, free mechanism to block unwanted calls, SMS messages, and other electronic communications. The system was officially launched by trade, industry, and competition minister Parks Tau, who emphasized the importance of the registry in promoting responsible direct marketing and protecting consumers from spam calls, texts, emails, and other electronic communication.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "Tired of spam calls? Here’s how to block them with the new National Opt-Out Registry",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/tired-of-spam-calls-heres-how-to-block-them-with-the-new-national-opt",
        "published": "2026-10-07T14:01:49.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}