Charities warned over abuse of new email soft opt-in

The Information Commissioner’s Office has warned the charity sector to tread carefully if and when the proposed ‘soft opt-in’ for email marketing becomes law, insisting they must not ride roughshod over “individual rights and freedoms”.

The move, which has Government backing, follows an amendment to the Data (Use & Access) Bill and was the result of a lobbying campaign spearheaded by the DMA, and supported by Salocin Group agency Wood for Trees and nearly 20 leading UK charities.

The change will bring the third sector in line with the business sector and allow charities to send email direct marketing to people they have an existing relationship with through the sale of goods and services, as long as they give the customer the option to opt out.

According to the Wood for Trees analysis, charities could financially capitalise on the rule change, and benefit to the tune of £290m a year.

Having progressed through the House of Lords, the bill will soon commence its committee stage in the House of Commons, following its first reading last week and planned second reading this week.

And, given that the Government has pledged to put data and technology at the heart of its drive for growth, most commentators believe the bill will have a smooth passage through the Commons and could be on the statute book as early as the summer.

In his response to the bill passing to the Commons, Information Commissioner John Edwards said: “Overall, the bill remains one which I support as improving the effectiveness of the data protection regime in the UK, upholding people’s rights, providing regulatory certainty and clarity for organisations and improving the way the ICO regulates.

“I will continue to engage with government and parliamentarians to provide my independent advice on further changes during the remaining phases of the parliamentary process.”

But while Edwards says he supports the soft opt-in extension “as it will help charities better communicate with people who support their purposes”, he added: “We would expect charities to consider implementation carefully, including their UK GDPR obligations.

“Where organisations are relying on legitimate interests for their processing, they will need to carefully assess their interests and balance them against the impact on individual rights and freedoms.

“In some cases, it may not be appropriate to rely on the soft opt-in, for example where someone accesses an organisation’s crisis service and subsequently sending them direct marketing mail could result in harm.”