Mexico’s Senate Votes 96-0 to Curb Telemarketing Harassment With New Do-Not-Call Registry

Mexico City — Mexico’s Senate voted 96-0 to approve a reform aimed at curbing commercial telemarketing harassment and strengthening consumer privacy protections, lawmakers announced.

The initiative, introduced by Senator Mayuli Martínez, seeks to give Mexicans greater control over how their personal data is used and to let them formally state that they do not want to receive advertising calls — even when companies persist in contacting them after being told to stop.

Speaking before the full Senate, Martínez said the measure would create a Public Registry Against Commercial Telemarketing Harassment, a free list that people can join if they do not wish to receive advertising calls. Companies would be required to check the registry and honor those wishes.

“What it seeks to address and resolve is a social problem that has grown alarmingly in our country: commercial telemarketing harassment,” she said.

The senator said one of the reform’s main goals is to shield people from telephone advertising they receive against their will. “This initiative seeks to protect the privacy of consumers,” she said.

Martínez also stressed that people must have a real option to say they do not want these calls, and that companies must respect that decision. The measure further aims to prevent firms from dodging responsibility by claiming the calls were placed by third parties.

The Quintana Roo legislator described the reform as directly beneficial to the public. “It is a concrete measure that is directly useful to citizens,” she said.

With its approval, she added, Mexico takes a step toward stronger consumer protection mechanisms and new tools to deter commercial telemarketing harassment. “With this, we will be curbing commercial telemarketing harassment in our country to a large extent,” she said.