New ICO direct marketing guidance

The ICO published its new direct marketing guidance on Thursday 24 March

In a blog article the ICO mentions that its direct marketing guidance may be put on statutory footing. This would give it power in UK courts.

The Baroness Neville-Rolfe mentioned that the Government was considering this move at the Data Protection 2016. The ICO added that such a move would require legislative change and would therefore need to be put out to consultation before going before Parliament

The guidance has a greater focus on fundraising, which reflects of events that took place over the summer 2015.

There are a number of examples in the guidance specific to fundraising. The ICO wants to make sure that fundraising follows the same rules as those for other direct marketers.

Third party consent is also addressed.

Head of policy delivery, Steve Wood, said “Our guidance makes clearer than ever that phrases like ‘are you happy to receive marketing from selected third parties’ will rarely be likely to demonstrate the law is being followed.”

Also included is detail around consent given freely. Direct marketers should not unduly incentivise consumers to consent to marketing calls. Asking for consent to marketing as a pre-condition to using a service is not best practice.

Finally, Steve Wood said “I’ve no doubt some readers will have been hoping for more from the guidance. We know some people would like to see entire guidance documents dedicated to specific sectors, for instance, but this misunderstands the law. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations apply equally to any and all organisations who are engaging in direct marketing activity via electronic means, regardless of their sector. To create several different strands of guidance for several different sectors would create a confused picture.”

We will publish more on the ICO's new guidance in due course.

If you have any questions or concerns relating to the guidance then do get in touch with the DMA Legal Helpdesk: legaladvice@dma.org.uk