Brussels chiefs have agreed to investigate whether business to business data should be exempt from the shake-up of European data laws, following an online petition set up by UK telemarketing firm SCi Sales.
The e-petition, launched late last year, seeks to garner support for the belief that the new legislation is specifically designed to protect consumers and is not needed in the B2B space. Supporters claim the EU Data Protection Regulation could actively damage “the marketing of UK companies and their ability to sell”.
And despite attracting fewer than 100 e-votes in support of the move, SCi marketing chief Graham Smith has received written confirmation from chair of the Committee on Petitions, Erminia Mazzoni, that the issue is to be examined.
The letter goes on to say that the petition has also been submitted to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) as well as to MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht, who is leading the draft laws through the Commission.
Smith said: “The EU take their first vote on this Regulation at the end of June, so there is still time for marketers to lobby their MEPs and get B2B data excluded.
“We understand the need for uniformity across Europe on data protection, and agree that personal data needs to be protected. But B2B data is not personal. My work email address belongs to my company, not me. My purchasing decisions at work are based on my company’s needs, not mine. That’s why we petitioned the EU to exclude B2B data.
“We welcome the EU’s agreement to investigate our petition, but we are concerned that with over 3,000 amendments, the final Regulation could look like a camel rather than a thoroughbred race horse. They might reject our B2B exclusion as a trade-off for some other amendment.”
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EU probes B2B data exemption http://t.co/a9p4OzCXse
EU probes B2B data exemption http://t.co/wgJBI9dOz6 Sign petition to exclude B2B from EU Data Regulation http://t.co/eBPizncCtP #marketing
should B2B #data be exempt from new EU #data rules. Brussels are debating it.. http://t.co/JTisjwDbcX
EU may exclude B2B from EU Data Regulation http://t.co/wgJBI9dOz6 … Pls sign petition http://t.co/eBPizncCtP @B2BMarketingEU @B2Community