From CompliNEWS | Financial Service Intelligence Watch

A probe by the Information Regulator into caller identity platform Truecaller remains ongoing, reinforcing the growing focus on data protection enforcement in South Africa. TechCentral reports that the regulator initiated the investigation under the Protection of Personal Information Act (PoPIA), with Truecaller confirming that it has responded to the regulator’s request for submissions and is co-operating with the process. The investigation has not yet reached a conclusion, and the specific allegations have not been publicly detailed.

While the outcome remains pending, the case is significant in that it highlights the regulator’s willingness to engage with large, cross-border digital platforms operating in the local market. Even where there is no allegation of unauthorised data sharing, the scrutiny points to broader concerns around how personal information is collected, processed and managed, particularly in app-based ecosystems that rely on large-scale user data.

The timing is notable. With reports indicating that South Africans received billions of spam and scam calls over the past year, the use of applications designed to identify and filter such activity is increasing rapidly. This creates a complex environment where platforms positioned as protective tools are themselves subject to regulatory scrutiny, particularly where data aggregation and processing occur across jurisdictions.

From a compliance perspective, the matter signals a clear direction of travel. The Information Regulator is moving beyond awareness and into active oversight, with investigations that may shape expectations around transparency, consent and cross-border data handling. For financial services firms and other accountable institutions, this reinforces the need to ensure that any third-party platforms used in client engagement or fraud mitigation are assessed not only for functionality, but also for POPIA alignment.

Read the Full TechCentral report here