| Link(s): | Stay up to data: four key tips on using personal data for marketing – ASA | CAP 10 Use of data for marketing – ASA | CAP |
Context
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has published a webpage outlining the rules that marketers need to follow when they’re using consumers’ “personal data”. Although the underlying legislation has a wide application, these rules relate only to data used for direct marketing purposes.
Key points to note and next actions
- The ASA sets out four key factors to know on the use of data for marketing:
- When do you need consent? If personal data will be used to send marketing communications by electronic mail, the consumer needs to have given the marketer their explicit consent beforehand. Before such messages are sent, consumers need to have been asked to give consent to receive them, through a clear affirmative action such as a tick box. Consent to receive marketing messages shouldn’t be bundled in with consent to receive other types of messages. Consent must be specific.
- What counts as personal data? This is any data that can be used to identify a particular living person. When a customer’s name is matched up with their contact details (e.g. their postal address, e-mail address, phone number, or any other means of information that’s specific to the named individual) or an identifier such as an IP address or cookie, this is likely to count as their “personal data”.
- What firms need to do when they collect personal data – Code rules 10.2 and 10.3 state that certain information must be provided to consumers whenever this personal data is obtained. They need to be told information including the marketer’s contact details, the reason and legal basis for collecting the data, the identities of third parties who the data will be shared with, how long it will be stored, and consumers’ right to ask for it to be deleted.
- When consumers ask not to receive marketing communications – If a consumer makes this request for their data to be suppressed, marketers should accept this request and ensure they don’t send the data subject any further marketing communications.