This FAQ, together with the summary of the relevant requirements of the UEMO, illustrations and advice, is for general reference only. Readers should refer to the provisions of the UEMO for a complete and definitive statement of the law.

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1. About the Do-not-call Registers

Q1.1My business involves the sending of commercial electronic messages. What is the impact of do-not-call registers to my business?
A1.1

Starting from Phase 2 (commenced on 22 December 2007) of the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance, it is a breach of the provisions under Part 2 of the UEMO for anyone to send commercial electronic messages to numbers listed in do-not-call registers (if established) once the numbers have been listed for 10 working days (please refer to section 2 of the UEMO for the definition of working day) unless the recipients have given consent to the sender for the sending of such messages prior to or subsequent to the listing of the number in the do-not-call registers. The definition of commercial electronic message can be found in section 2 of the UEMO, meaning an electronic message the purpose, or one of the purposes, of which is -

  1. to offer to supply goods, services, facilities, land or an interest in land;
  2. to offer to provide a business opportunity or an investment opportunity;
  3. to advertise or promote goods, services, facilities, land or an interest in land;
  4. to advertise or promote a business opportunity or an investment opportunity;
  5. to advertise or promote a supplier, or a prospective supplier, of goods, services, facilities, land or an interest in land; or
  6. to advertise or promote a provider, or a prospective provider, of a business opportunity or an investment opportunity, in the course of or in the furtherance of any business.

Members of the public may lodge reports to the Communications Authority ("CA") about senders sending them commercial electronic messages after their numbers have been put onto the registers. Office of the Communications Authority ("OFCA") shall conduct investigations on the alleged violations and may issue enforcement notices to the sender, directing the senders to take reasonable steps to rectify the contravention within a reasonable period. Any person who contravenes an enforcement notice served on him or her is liable to a fine at level 6 (currently at $100,000) and on a second and subsequent conviction, to a fine of $500,000. In the case of continuing offence, a further fine up to $1,000 will be imposed for each day during which the offence continues.

Q1.2How many do-not-call registers are there?
A1.2

CA has established three registers, namely, a Do-not-call Register for fax (the Fax Register), a Do-not-call Register for short messages (the Short Messages Register) and a Do-not-call Register for pre-recorded telephone messages (the Pre-recorded Register). The Short Messages Register generally covers SMSs and MMSs sent over mobile network as well as short messages sent over fixed network. The Pre-recorded Register generally covers pre-recorded voice and video calls.

CA will not establish a do-not-call register for emails because it will do more harm than good to the problem of unsolicited emails. Such a register would help spammers obtain valid email addresses easily and then send spam emails to the email addresses on the register from overseas, making enforcement very difficult.

Q1.3How can the public register their numbers to the do-not-call registers?
A1.3

It is very simple to register a number in the do-not-call registers. The automated registration system is capable of detecting the calling number. So the public may call the registration hotline (for the specific do-not-call register) from the telephone number that he/she wishes to register, the system will detect the calling number and read it out for confirmation. By pressing a key to confirm, the telephone number will be put into the corresponding do-not-call register. After a do-not-call register becomes operational (i.e. a register is made available for downloading by senders), the registered number will be listed in the corresponding do-not-call register at the end of the same day.

Q1.4What are the relationships between the do-not-call registers, the consent list and the unsubscribe list?
A1.4

If a sender has a valid consent as defined in the UEMO from a recipient, the sender may continue to send commercial electronic messages to the recipient despite that the recipient has registered his/her number in the do-not-call register. The consent is considered to remain valid until it is withdrawn, so even if the recipient registers his/her number in the do-not-call registers after giving the consent, the sender may still rely on the consent to send the commercial electronic message. However, the consent will only override the particular registration in the do-not-call register, the sender still need to follow other provisions of the UEMO, in particular, the other rules of sending of commercial electronic messages in Part 2 of the UEMO including the inclusion of sender's information, unsubscribe facilities, etc.

If the recipient after giving his/her consent to a sender would like to stop this sender from sending further commercial electronic messages to him/her, the recipient may make an unsubscribe request to the sender. In other words, an unsubscribe request should be treated as the withdrawal of consent, as well as the indication that no further commercial electronic messages should be sent to the electronic address. If a sender receives both a consent and an unsubscribe request from a recipient, the latest one would prevail.

2. Application for subscription account

Q2.1How can I access information contained in Do-not-call Registers?
A2.1

You must first visit the web portal http://tm.dnc.gov.hk to apply for a subscription account by filling in the online application form. After you have filled in the online application form, the system will send an email notice requiring you to submit documentary proof and informing you about the payment details/methods. Once CA has received all the required documents and the subscription payment has been settled, you will be notified by an email of account activation. During the application process, you will be asked to set a username, a password and a security question. You will need to use the username and password to log on to the Do-not-call Registers system regularly to download the registers. If you have forgotten your password later on, the system will prompt you to answer the security question, and will allow you to choose a new password upon answering the security question correctly.

Q2.2What documentary proof is required to subscribe for an account?
A2.2

Depending on the capacity of the subscriber, different documentary proof is required, for example, a copy of the HKID card for an individual or a copy of the certificate for incorporation and business registration certificate for a Hong Kong incorporated company. Please refer to the web page: Do-not-call Registers (Industry) for further information.

Q2.3How much is the subscription fee?
A2.3

The subscription fees of the three Do-not-call Registers are the same. The annual subscription fee for the use of each Do-not-call Register (i.e. the Fax Register or the Short Message Register or the Pre-recorded Register) is HK$1600 (unlimited downloading will be allowed during the year).In other words, if you would like to use all the three Do-not-call Registers, you would need to pay HK$4800 ( = HK$1600 x 3) per year. On the other hand, you may also consider making a 3-month subscription, the fee of which is HK$425 per register (unlimited downloading will be allowed during the 3-month period). The said fees may be revised from time to time and the revised fees will be published by CA.

Q2.4I need to use more than one Do-not-call Register due to my business need. What should I do during the application process?
A2.4

When you apply for an account in the online application form, please select "subscription of multiple registers". You do not need to make separate applications for the use of different registers.

Q2.5How can I pay the subscription fee?
A2.5

You can pay the subscription fee by cheque, Payment-by-Phone, or in cash. Payment instructions will be given in the email notice sent to you after CA accepts your application. All fees must be paid before the subscription account can be used.

3. Accessing the Information in the Do-not-call Registers

Q3.1I have successfully applied for a subscription account. When will the Do-not-call Registers be available for downloading?
A3.1

Once CA has received all the required documents and the subscription payment has been settled, you will be notified by an email of account activation. After you have followed the steps described in the email to activate your account, you would be able to download the Do-not-call Registers immediately.

Q3.2What formats of Do-not-call Registers are available?
A3.2

The Do-not-call Registers are available for downloading in compressed zip format. A sender might choose to download Do-not-call Registers containing numbers only or Do-not-call Registers containing both numbers and registration dates. After decompressing the zip file, the original format is in plain text format containing one telephone number (normally an 8-digit number in a row) per line or a telephone number and a date code separated by a comma per line.

Q3.3How often would the Do-not-call Register be updated?
A3.3

The Do-not-call Registers accept registrations from the public from 00:00 to 22:59. They will be updated only once a day, from 23:00 to 00:00), during which the Do-not-call Registers would not be available for downloading.

Q3.4 How often should I download a Do-not-call Register?
A3.4

You are reminded that numbers in Do-not-call Registers are protected by the UEMO in such a way that from the 10th working day a number is listed in a Do-not-call Register, no more commercial electronic messages shall be sent to that number, unless consent has been given by the recipient to the sender. You are also encouraged to cleanse your calling number databases against the numbers which have been downloaded from a Do-not-call Register in a more frequent interval as a good practice.

Q3.5Is the downloading of Do-not-call Registers available 24 hours a day?
A3.5

No. Downloading of Do-not-call Registers is not available at 23:00 – 00:00 hours daily, during which the system is updating new records in the registers.

Q3.6Can I use automatic scripts or screen replay tools for automatic downloading of Do-not-call Registers?
A3.6

In order to prevent unauthorised access to the Do-not-call Registers, the system is equipped with a "CAPTCHA" challenge-response test, which makes use of randomly generated, unrelated and distorted graphic text only visually distinguishable by human eyes, to avoid accounts and passwords being probed by automated scripts. So you would not be able to automate the process of downloading of the Do-not-call Registers. However, if you have operational need to automate the login and download process, we can make special arrangement on a per account basis to facilitate the automation. If you need such arrangement, please send your request to email address dnc-admin@ofca.gov.hk .

Q3.7How do I know if my downloaded Do-not-call Register is not corrupted?
A3.7

In order to make sure your downloaded Do-not-call Register is not corrupted, a 'checksum' file is available alongside the respective Do-not-call Register. The checksum file contains an 'MD5' checksum value of the zip file. By using an MD5 file integrity checking tool, you can verify the integrity of the downloaded file against the contents of the checksum file. This is an important step to ensure that the downloaded Do-not-call Register is not corrupted due to transmission over the Internet. There will be steps in the web site to show how you should check and compare the checksum file to ensure that your downloaded file is not corrupted.

Q3.8I only send out commercial electronic messages to a small number of telephone numbers. What facility can I use in order to screen out numbers in my list instead of downloading the complete register for cleansing?
A3.8

In the web site http://tm.dnc.gov.hk, we provide a facility of real-time online check of numbers. You need to select which register you want to interrogate and then you can enter the numbers one by one. The system will tell if the numbers you input are registered or not. This interface will only allow the checking of 100 numbers at a time. If you have a large database to cleanse, you should download the entire Do-not-call Register for cleansing.

4. Do-not-call Registers Subscription Account management

Q4.1What is the purpose of the security question when applying for a new account?
A4.1

The security question will be used to facilitate the reset of password in case you forget your password. After you click the "forget password" icon in the login screen, the system will prompt you to answer a security question. If the answer is matched, you will be prompted to type a new password to override the previous password. The new password will be effective the next time you login to http://tm.dnc.gov.hk.

Q4.2I forget my password and I cannot answer the security question. What can I do to access my account?
A4.2

If you forget your password and cannot answer the security question, you will not be able to access your account in http://tm.dnc.gov.hk. Please send a fax to OFCA at 3155 0976 providing us with your account name, company name, and telephone or fax number, together with documentary proof (e.g. business registration). After authentication, OFCA will inform you a new one-time password for your account by phone or fax, whichever is considered more secure. The next time you log in with the new one-time password, you will be asked to change the password immediately.

Q4.3How can I check the expiry of my subscription account?
A4.3

You can always check your subscription expiry date and renewal options by selecting the "Account Profile" menu after you have logged on to http://tm.dnc.gov.hk.

Q4.4Can I request to renew subscription before the current subscription expires?
A4.4

Yes. You can renew your subscription at any time before it expires. After successful renewal, the expiry date will be extended accordingly without overlap.

Q4.5Is there any reminder to alert me about the expiry of my subscription?
A4.5

One month before the expiry of a subscription, the system will start sending an email alert to the subscriber about the expiry of the subscription. The email alert message will be sent to the subscriber every week till the expiry date, or when the subscriber has renewed the subscription, whichever is earlier.

Q4.6What happen to my account if it has expired?
A4.6

If your account has expired for less than two months, you can still log on to the web portal http://tm.dnc.gov.hk although you will not be able to download any Do-not-call Register. Downloading will be enabled again only after you have paid the renewal fee. If you intend to maintain your subscription account, you are advised to make a renewal request and pay the renewal fee within two months after the subscription expiry date. Otherwise, your account will be cancelled. Once your account is cancelled, you will not be able to log on to http://tm.dnc.gov.hk and if you want to apply for an account in future, you will have to go through the online application process as a new applicant.

5. Use of the Information in the Do-not-call Registers

Q5.1After downloading the Do-not-call Registers, do I still need to keep my in-house unsubscribe list?
A5.1

The purpose of Do-not-call Register is to provide registered users of electronic addresses with a convenient means to notify all senders that they do not wish to receive commercial electronic messages at their electronic address. However, they may also send an unsubscribe request to an individual sender to indicate their wishes of not receiving further messages from that particular sender, and the sender must honour such unsubscribe request as specified in section 10 of the UEMO. Therefore, in addition to downloading the Do-not-call Registers for cleansing your calling number databases, you are also required to keep your in-house unsubscribe list and cleanse your calling number databases against it every time before you send out messages.

Q5.2My company provides marketing service to other companies. Can we cleanse electronic address list of other companies with our subscription of Do-not-call Registers and send out messages?
A5.2

Yes, but you can only use the downloaded Do-not-call Registers for cleansing purpose and cannot pass the Do-not-call Registers to another person/company.

Section 58(2) of the UEMO prohibits the use of information in a Do-not-call Register for purpose other than to ascertain whether a registered user of an electronic address does not wish to receive unsolicited commercial electronic messages at that electronic address. Therefore, use of the information in a Do-not-call Register for other purposes is an offence with maximum penalty of a fine up to 1 million dollars and imprisonment for 5 years.

In addition, one of the terms for subscription to the Do-not-call Registers prohibits the resell or redistribution of the whole or part of a Do-not-call Register. Therefore, allowing others to use or redistributing the Do-not-call Registers may incur both civil, and possibly criminal liabilities.