In today's age of social media, the vast majority of companies use social media and newsletters to maintain contact with contractors and customers. This form of activity involves the processing of personal data of contractors, customers, and potential customers. Using these forms of contact requires the use of information such as email addresses, phone numbers, names, and surnames.
Marketing contact, of course, requires adapting internal procedures and processes to the requirements of the Act and the Regulation (GDPR). It is essential to provide an appropriate legal basis and comply with the disclosure requirements. Sometimes, it is also necessary to obtain consent for this form of contact.
Marketing consent should specify:
- channel for future contact with a potential customer,
- the purpose of this contact
- entity for which consent is granted.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is also indicated that consent should be granted to one entity indicated in the content of the consent.
Please note that consent cannot be presumed or implied from a declaration of intent with a different content.
The provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation clearly state in Articles 6 and 9 that the processing of personal data is only permitted if and to the extent that one of the conditions specified therein is met. According to Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, one of the independent grounds for processing personal data is the legitimate interest of the controller. This ground makes the processing legally permissible and can be carried out without the need to obtain consent from the data subject.
The choice of legal basis involves a balancing test and a choice between consent and another legal basis.
Ensuring compliance with the GDPR is the first step to success, as we should not forget about other regulations, such as the Act of 18 July 2002 on the provision of services by electronic means and the Act of 16 July 2014 – Telecommunications Law.
It is important to remember that if you refuse to consent to marketing contact, you are no longer entitled to such contact.
Taking into account the increased activity of the Personal Data Protection Office in verifying the correctness of marketing conducted by entrepreneurs, it is worth paying attention to these issues in your companies.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of August 10, 2022
author/editor of the series:
