Unsolicited contact from businesses is booming, and Australians say they want more control over the communication they receive.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority survey found 98 per cent of respondents had received unsolicited contact in the prior six months, while just one in 10 felt they have control over how personal information is used to sell a product or promote something.
While 74 per cent of respondents had asked a business to stop contacting them, nearly three in five of those were still contacted after unsubscribing, and 56 per cent had difficulty unsubscribing.
An ACMA spokesperson said the data confirmed Australians expect privacy protections to be in place.
"Businesses need to respect the choices consumers make and comply with spam and telemarketing laws," the spokesperson said.
"This undermines confidence in legitimate marketing practices and use of Australia's telecommunications services."
Under spam laws, marketing messages must include a functional unsubscribe facility, and businesses must action unsubscribe requests within seven days.
More than half of the respondents felt they rarely or never had control of their data used for marketing, with 72 per cent seeking more control.
Some 86 per cent had received a scam call in the last six months, while 40 per cent said they received that type of call weekly.
From those who received unsolicited calls, 69 per cent were from an unknown caller and 61 per cent were from businesses or marketing, while 25 and 23 per cent were from government agencies and political parties or candidates respectively.
When respondents got an unsolicited call, 83 per cent had hung up, 81 per cent had checked the number and not answered, but just 14 per cent had made a complaint.
When the contact came via text message, 93 per cent of respondents just didn't respond, 84 per cent blocked the number and 58 per cent replied 'STOP' to prevent further contact.
The ACMA spokesperson said $1.9 million had been paid in infringement notices due to the organisation's tough stance on spam and telemarketing law compliance, with nearly 6000 compliance alerts issued in that time.
The authority has taken enforcement action against businesses including Optus, Woolworths and Kogan for breaking spam and telemarketing laws.
"We will continue to work with business through our compliance and enforcement activities so that they understand their obligations, particularly around obtaining and relying on consent to market to Australian consumers."
