Spam texts in decline, but robocalls spike
The government’s move to get tough on spam text messages has resulted in a sharp rise in nuisance calls, showed recent data.
According to data from the Korea Internet and Security Agency submitted Friday to Mun Mi-ock of the opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, Koreans reported up to 18 million unwanted calls and messages to the agency this year, as of the end of August 2016, the agency said.
(123rf)
In 2013, the figure was nearly 33 million, but fell to 22 million in 2014 and 14 million in 2015, the data showed.
However, the number of reported telemarketing calls has spiked, with 10 million cases this year, close to the total for last year and 14 times more than the 880,000 cases reported in 2013.
On the other hand, advertisements through email and text messages, dropped drastically, with 5 million reported this year, down from 21 million in 2013.
The new anti-spam legislation in 2014 seems to have contributed to the phenomenon. The amendment to the Information Communications Network Act allows the distribution of commercial marketing only if agreed upon by online users, strengthening controls on commercial text messages and emails.
But businesses and telemarketers make unwanted calls a lot more often as an alternative, according to people with knowledge of the mobile communication industry.
Marketers often use robocalls -- automated telephone calls that deliver a recorded message -- and as a result they are able to avoid penalties, an official of the Korea Internet and Security Agency said.
“When people answer prerecorded or live telemarketing calls, they get frustrated and hang up,” the official said. “But one must submit a record file when reporting to the authority. It is an extra burden for ordinary people.”
By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)
According to data from the Korea Internet and Security Agency submitted Friday to Mun Mi-ock of the opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea, Koreans reported up to 18 million unwanted calls and messages to the agency this year, as of the end of August 2016, the agency said.
In 2013, the figure was nearly 33 million, but fell to 22 million in 2014 and 14 million in 2015, the data showed.
However, the number of reported telemarketing calls has spiked, with 10 million cases this year, close to the total for last year and 14 times more than the 880,000 cases reported in 2013.
On the other hand, advertisements through email and text messages, dropped drastically, with 5 million reported this year, down from 21 million in 2013.
The new anti-spam legislation in 2014 seems to have contributed to the phenomenon. The amendment to the Information Communications Network Act allows the distribution of commercial marketing only if agreed upon by online users, strengthening controls on commercial text messages and emails.
But businesses and telemarketers make unwanted calls a lot more often as an alternative, according to people with knowledge of the mobile communication industry.
Marketers often use robocalls -- automated telephone calls that deliver a recorded message -- and as a result they are able to avoid penalties, an official of the Korea Internet and Security Agency said.
“When people answer prerecorded or live telemarketing calls, they get frustrated and hang up,” the official said. “But one must submit a record file when reporting to the authority. It is an extra burden for ordinary people.”
By Bak Se-hwan (sh@heraldcorp.com)
(责任编辑:新闻中心)
相关内容
- “精致小春姐”顾春芳:华丽白西装、镶钻水晶拖鞋,带来新兴凉果No.1
- #SharpieGate: Debunked conspiracy theory leads to scary situation in Arizona
- North Korea to send 140
- Ruling, opposition parties agree on W62tr extra budget
- Cyrix: Gone But Not Forgotten
- [Exclusive] Samsung unsure of Suga's future as brand ambassador: source
- Ten Hag urges Man Utd to 'use initiative'
- After ban, new 'Stop the Steal' Groups spread conspiracy theories on Facebook
- Klopp sweats on Oxlade
- CrowdStrike outage is still causing hundreds of flight cancellations daily
- South Korea offers high
- 培养创新意识 提高科学素质
- Chinese vessel seized over North Korea oil trafficking
推荐文章
-
高燃!哨响表停赛不止,2024广东“村BA”开赛在即,一分钟带你重温高光瞬间。
...[详细] -
North Korea's chief delegate Ri Son-gwon, center on the left side, talks with the South's Unificatio ...[详细]
-
Latest provocation aimed at improving negotiation positionBy Kim Jae-kyoungSINGAPORE -- North Korea' ...[详细]
-
190,000 North Korean kids face malnutrition risk as UN cuts food supply
In this photo released by the World Food Program, North Korean children eat food donated by the WFP ...[详细] -
PCB official under probe for conflict of interest
ListentoarticleThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has launched an investigation into a senior official ...[详细] -
Horniest new emoji from iOS 14.2 to upgrade your sexting game
It's that time of year again.It's no coincidence that the emoji update tends to land right in the mi ...[详细] -
打造千亿级生态文旅产业 | 市委书记抓乡村振兴(2024.04.01-04.07)_南方+_南方plus本文收录于专辑上周,多地部署发展生态产业。河源市强调,把绿美资源与红色资源、古树资源等结合起来, ...[详细]
-
James Webb Space Telescope: How to watch the NASA launch
It's happening.The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) — which will give humanity unprecedented ...[详细] -
Nvidia GeForce Now Ultimate vs. New Graphics Card
Video games are getting prettier. But the price that comes with more realistic graphics, ray tracing ...[详细] -
SINGAPORE:Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was ruing an untimely injury suffered by Alex Oxlade-Chambe ...[详细]
热点阅读
随机内容