The privacy watchdog issued guidelines to companies on direct marketing in 2013 and has launched a survey in an effort to find out, among other things, how often companies refer to the document and how useful and easy to understand they find it.
The ICO's survey asks businesses if they feel the guidance clearly explains the issues related to obtaining consent to direct marketing activity and the rights people have around such activity. The ICO has also asked companies if they feel the document offers sufficiently practical guidance to cover the type of direct marketing they engage in, and whether they have altered their policies and practices to reflect the guidance the ICO has published.
Digital direct marketing activity in the UK has to comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
PECR generally prohibits organisations from sending or instigating the transmission of unsolicited communications to consumers for the purposes of direct marketing by means of electronic mail unless the person receiving the mail has given their prior consent for the messages to be sent or other limited exceptions apply.
According to the ICO's guidance, organisations need to obtain "extremely clear and specific" consent from people in order to conduct digital direct marketing. The ICO said that businesses cannot rely on consent provided to third parties unless the intended recipient of electronic direct marketing messages "intended for their consent to be passed on to the organisation doing the marketing".
Companies can engage in direct marketing via email without consumers' consent under PECR if they have "obtained the contact details of the recipient of that electronic mail in the course of the sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service to that recipient", where the marketing is for "similar products and services only" and providing the recipient has a "simple means" to refuse the use of their contact details for that marketing "at the time of each subsequent communication".