Article
Source: Mobile Marketing
Article
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07.13.16
On 11 May, Leave.eu, the pro-Brexit campaign group, was fined by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for sending spam texts as part of a direct marketing campaign. Better for the Country Ltd., which campaigned under the names ‘Leave.eu’ and ‘The Know’, was fined £50,000 after admitting to sending 501,135 texts, generating 140 complaints. Though Leave.eu argued that it had obtained sufficient consent to send the texts, the ICO ruled to the contrary
Background
Whilst many of the texts were sent to registered supporters of the group, a number were sent to individuals whose information had been obtained from a third-party data supplier. Although Leave.eu had argued that the third-party data obtained was ‘double opt-in consented for government and local government marketing’, the ICO ruled that the group had breached Regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR) by transmitting unsolicited communications.
Consent, in the meaning of Regulation 22(2), requires that the recipient of the electronic mail has notified the sender that he/she consents to messages being sent. Indirect consent, or third party consent, can be valid, ‘but only if it is clear and specific enough’. The ICO considered that Leave.eu had neither.
Read more: The Age of Consent