Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

11 December 2003

These Regulations came into force today, and prohibit unsolicited direct marketing by email or text messages, except where the recipient

1. has previously consented to receipt of such material, or

2. is an existing customer and the marketing is of similar products or services. Even then, such marketing may only be carried out where the recipient was given a simple means of refusing direct marketing at the time his or her data was first collected, and is provided with such a method of refusal in each subsequent marketing communication.

The Regulations apply to consumers, sole traders and partnerships. At present, they do not apply to companies or their employees. Enforcement of the Regulations will be carried out by the Information Commissioner, and anyone who suffers damage from a contravention of the Regulations has a statutory right to sue for compensation. For a more in-depth look at these Regulations, we attach our briefing note.