Hong Kong plans to enact a law next year to crack down on companies that send unsolicited e-mails or make automated telemarketing calls, according to wire reports yesterday.
Au Man-ho, director-general of the Telecommunications Authority, said in a statement over the weekend that telemarketers using automated calling on an unsolicited basis “can be considered a spam problem,” The Associated Press reported. However, the law would not cover “manually made cold calls” to avoid interfering with normal business activities.
The government has talked with industry groups to craft a law that would combat junk faxes, e-mails, text messages and telemarketing calls. No implementation date has been set, according to the AP. Au Man-ho was quoted as saying that the issue still requires public discussion and that the government was working with fixed-line and mobile operators to create a code of practice for telemarketing.
