The Congress of the Republic of Peru approved by insistence a law that modifies the Consumer Protection and defense Code, with the purpose of restricting the unrelated advertising calls, known as spam. Unanimously, the plenary approved the norm that seeks to safeguard the tranquility and security of citizens before the Complaints of users who claim to receive a large number of calls during the day.
Now, with the support of more than 100 votes, companies will not be able to use call centersautomatic telephone call systems, mass text messages or emails to promote products or services without the express consent of consumers.
According to the president of the Consumer Defense Commission (CODECO), Manuel García CorreaPeru occupies the second place worldwide at the reception of spam calls, with an average of 18 contact attempts per user per month. Between January 20, 2020 and December 2023, Indecopi sanctioned 53 companies for violating current regulations, imposing a total of 78 fines that exceeded the 5.3 million soles. However, these sanctions have not been enough to eradicate the practice, said the legislator.
Another of the congressmen to pronounce was José Luna, who highlighted the importance of this measure to stop the harassment of millions of citizens. He pointed out that these practices not only alter people’s tranquility, but also affect their health. According to official data, A citizen can receive on average up to 36 calls of this type a week, which shows the magnitude of the problem.
“We cannot allow harassment and coercion to follow to which these companies submit for offering a service or product. Every consumer has the right to protection against aggressive or deceitful commercial methods, and constitute harassment and coercion, ”he said.
It is worth mentioning that, with its approval, All the observations given by the Government of Dina Boluarte were dismissed, who has returned the norm three times, preventing its promulgation. The history of objections by the Executive began in April 2023, when the first objection was presented. Subsequently, in October of the same year, a second observation was issued, and the third took place in July 2024.
In accordance with the office sent by the Executive to Congress, the main objection is that the law, by prohibiting the initial unplayed communications, would limit both the interests of the companies and those of the users themselves. According to this document, the regulations would prevent personal data holders from expressing their consent to receive offers that could be of interest. However, this argument has been qualified as “absurd” by congressmen Wilson Soto and Jorge Morante, who lead the defense of the bill.
For its part, the Executive has defended its position arguing that the regulations It could affect some 20,000 people working in sectors related to telemarketing and advertising. This labor impact has been one of the most controversial points of the debate, since the promoters of the law consider that the protection of consumer rights must prevail over the economic interests of companies.
“Who does not receive every day called when one has not even authorized? […] It is annoying and many times also camouflages extortion. So, I think it is important for the tranquility of Peruvians that this rule is approved, ”said Soto in dialogue with Infobae Peru.
