Telephone marketing out in the cold?
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Ewan Nettleton is a solicitor in the Intellectual Property Department at Bristows. He specialises in intellectual property law. He has an MA in chemistry and a doctorate in protein chemistry.
Charlotte Pham is a solicitor in the Intellectual Property Department at Bristows. She specialises in IT, e-commerce and data protection law. She has a BA (Hons) in French and German.
Abstract In December 2003, new UK law came into effect following a European directive which was aimed principally at trying to control spam — a global problem affecting almost all users of e-mail, text messaging and other forms of electronic communication. In the flurry of e-mail and spam-related press coverage that accompanied the introduction of the new law, it would have been easy to overlook the fact that it also extends to other means of marketing such as telephone marketing. Restrictions on so-called ‘cold calling’ were introduced and these have recently been extended to cover potentially all business-to-business (B2B) marketing calls. This article explains the restrictions and gives some suggestions for compliance.
Ewan Nettleton Bristows, 3 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3AA, UK. Tel: ⫹44 (0)20 7400 8000; Fax: ⫹44 (0)20 7400 8050; e-mail: ewan.nettleton @bristows.com
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BACKGROUND As described in a previous paper,1 the UK has already brought in The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. Regulations adopting the European Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (2002/58/EC). The Regulations came into effect in the UK on 11 December, 2003, supplementing the UK’s existing data protection legislation. They are enforced by the Information Commissioner, who has released Guidance notes on their interpretation.2 The Regulations seek to be ‘technology neutral’ and cover a wide variety of marketing activities, including direct marketing by telephone, fax and electronic communications; automated calling systems; subscriber directories;
Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management
internet cookies; and value added services which rely on traffic or location data. The extent to which telephone marketing activities are covered has recently been widened; as a result of a recent amendment to the Regulations, they now clearly cover B2B marketing by telephone as well as marketing to individual consumers. APPLICATION OF THE REGULATIONS TO MARKETING BY TELEPHONE Telephone activities covered by the Regulations As with electronic mail, the key regulations applying to telephone marketing, Regulations 21 and 24, cover
Vol. 12, 2, 172–176
Henry Stewart Publications 1741–2447 (2005)
Legal update
telephone communications made for the purpose of ‘direct marketing’. This term is defined as ‘the communication (by whatever means) of any advertising or marketing material which is directed to particular individuals’.3 This means that telephone calls concerning a wide range of subject matter are covered including, for example, appeals made by charities and political parties for funds or support.4 It should be n
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