Spanish Government Seeks To Ban Spam Calls

Madrid: Spain's government said Tuesday that it wanted to ban companies from cold-calling consumers by forcing telecoms operators to block calls from firms without a specific digital code.

Blocking unsolicited commercial calls would protect "the well-being and privacy of consumers", said consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy, a member of the government's far-left junior coalition partner Sumar.

Commercial calls would be identified with "a specific code, a dedicated prefix" and telephone operators would block calls from any company not using the code, he told reporters.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's administration is also seeking to declare null and void any contract resulting from unsolicited calls and to oblige companies to renew consumer consent for commercial calls every two years.

The aim is to "discourage this business model and make companies stop engaging in these practices that cause so much bother to citizens", Bustinduy said.

According to a 2023 study carried out in 39 countries by US security company Hiya, 42 percent of calls in Spain in the third quarter were spam, the second-highest percentage in Europe.

Bustinduy said the measures would be introduced via amendments to a consumer rights bill to be debated in parliament "in the coming weeks".

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