The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 is a law in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which made it unlawful to, amongst other things, transmit an automated recorded message for

direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...

purposes via a telephone, without prior consent of the subscriber. The law implements an

EU directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires Member state of the European Union, member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the go ...

, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002. One of the key tenets of this legislation upholds that it is unlawful to send someone direct marketing if they have not specifically granted permission (via an opt-in agreement) in the absence of a previous relationship between the parties. Organisations cannot merely add people's details to their marketing database and offer an opt out after they have started sending direct marketing. For this reason the regulations offer increased

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

from direct marketing. The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for the enforcement of unsolicited e-mails and considers complaints about breaches. A breach of an enforcement notice is a criminal offence subject to a fine of up to £500,000 depending on the circumstances.

References

External links

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The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
History of telecommunications in the United Kingdom Statutory instruments of the United Kingdom 2003 in British law United Kingdom privacy law {{UK-law-stub