Data Compliance – using the TPS pays

You may have read about large fines being handed out to cold calling companies.
Recently the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) fined Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd £200,000. The size of the fine reflects both their methods and how often the company stepped over the line. Pleading ignorance made matters worse.
Steve Eckersley, Head of Enforcement at the ICO said: This company’s ignorance of the law is beyond belief. It didn’t even bother to find out what the rules were and it’s badly thought out marketing campaign made people’s lives a misery. The monetary penalty is for a significant amount because of the clear failings of the company, and the number of people affected by its deliberate and unlawful campaign.

“It should be a warning to other companies to think before they launch into a campaign”
If you do use telemarketing you will understand the importance of keeping within the law; you won’t get a fine, and you won’t suffer reputation damage either from people you call or from those who call on your behalf be it your own team or your telemarketing company.

It’s still important that suppression be taken seriously, not only for the obvious legal reasons but the pointlessness of contacting someone who might be annoyed by your contact. If you want to know more or want to ensure your existing or future calling list is above board, just call us.

Data Compliance – choose your data supplier carefully

As yet another indication that the ICO is being more proactive; an initiative was recently launched communicating with a large number of marketing sector companies highlighting some important issues about data and problems which can arise in the industry both now and in the future.

Corpdata fully support what the ICO has been doing; not least because the increasing perception and at times suspicion about how information is held and used means that addressing any key issues is in the interest not just of data subjects, but in the longer term interests of us all in the direct marketing sector, both suppliers and clients. 

It is clear that the ICO expects data users to show some consideration, and care about, the integrity and provenance of any data purchased, and the ethical and legal suitability of data suppliers. It would be wise for any data buyer to think carefully about how their chosen supplier obtains, manipulates and supplies any list of contacts. Being able to demonstrate some due care, whilst it’s always been good practice, may in future take on more significance when fielding any future complaint.

Currently the most straight forward and practicable step to take is to seek to confirm that your data supplier adheres to the high standards of UK and EU legislation and those they are registered with the ICO and thus are accountable to the ICO for compliance with the data protection & privacy rules.

Past events now show that even if you have not already been contacted by the ICO you might be in future. It would be well to take one or two simple steps which would allow you to demonstrate the process you take to ensure the legislative robustness of your data sources. We have created a template form that we hope you may find helpful in both undertaking your due diligence when selecting suppliers, and also demonstrating that you take your responsibilities seriously.

If you choose Corpdata as your data supplier you have chosen a supplier who is a UK company, a leading data supplier since 1992 with an outstanding reputation for quality and for keeping our data up to date.  Corpdata is also registered under the Data Protection Act, and comply fully with all UK and EU data legislation.

Something new for you, and an introductory offer to boot!

At the start of the month we hinted at news about our venerable e-Comm Focus product.

For several months now we have been working hard to completely overhaul the product and bring it up to date with this 'most-rapidly-changing-of-all' worlds.

What started out as an e-Commerce centric product has grown to include many other areas, such as Social Media, SEO, technical features, blogging, and much more. e-Commerce remains an important facet, but only one facet of the whole information base.

If you are working in the online world, or enable people to work in the online world, if you are a service provider to the online world, or a supplier helping traditional businesses to enter the online arena, thus product could well revolutionise the available market you have. You should not need to fumble through 'random' feeling contacts, sifting like the prospectors of old, for those grains of gold in the mix.

By being able to select companies that meet the description of organisations you seek to target, and having access to contact details for the key decision makers in the correct real-world companies, you can leverage your specific skills and share them cost-effectively with the widest relevant audience.

The new product is 'Online Focus'. It enables you to target organisations and decision makers by both real-world, and online metrics. Sophistication matrices, such as:

Media and channels

This product will launch on Monday 1st February 2016. Online Focus 5% Introductory Discount during February 2016… and for orders over £5,000, you're really trying to bring together the Virtual with the Reality, so we'll pre-order you an Oculus Rift, and it will be shipped to you as part of the manufacturers roll-out (so it will include a couple of games too)*
* terms and conditions apply (www.corpdata.co.uk/OFLaunchOffer)

EU data law and legislation reforms – a quick update

(From the recent EU announcement)

A recent EU announcement regarding the ongoing legislative and regulatory changes placed much emphasis on the sharing of data for law enforcement purposes, the customer rights of portability and individuals’ right to be forgotten; all important in a wider sense.
There were also claims, some may say spurious claims that €2.3 billion per year will be saved although it’s remains difficult to understand how this figure is reached. There may be some financial economies to organisations who have cross border operations but we’ll have to see if this is at best wishful thinking because most new regulations rarely save anyone any money.
The announcement also heralds creation of business opportunities; this may come to be but at this stage it is probably fair to say that for many people in business the old adage "every problem being an opportunity" might come to feel equally true the other way round.

This quick update focuses on some of the key text relating to business. However unfortunately it’s still the case that the final impact of a number of these measures is still to be known; principally because no one can be certain about how some of the terms will be interpreted.

The Reform consists of two instruments:
The General Data Protection Regulation will enable people to better control their personal data.
The Data Protection Directive for the police and criminal justice sector will ensure that the data of victims, witnesses, and suspects of crimes, are duly protected in the context of a criminal investigation or a law enforcement action.

A fundamental right for citizens
The reform will allow people to regain control of their personal data, and its new rules address these concerns by strengthening the existing rights and empowering individuals with more control over their personal data. Most notably, these include:
easier access to your own data: individuals will have more information on how their data is processed and this information should be available in a clear and understandable way;
a right to data portability: it will be easier to transfer your personal data between service providers;
a clarified "right to be forgotten": when you no longer want your data to be processed, and provided that there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it, the data will be deleted;
The right to know when your data has been hacked: For example, companies and organisations must notify the national supervisory authority of serious data breaches as soon as possible so that users can take appropriate measures.
Clear modern rules for businesses
In today's digital economy, personal data has acquired enormous economic significance, in particular in the area of big data. By unifying Europe's rules on data protection, lawmakers are creating a business opportunity and encouraging innovation.
One continent, one law: The regulation will establish one single set of rules which will make it simpler and cheaper for companies to do business in the EU.
One-stop-shop: businesses will only have to deal with one single supervisory authority. This is estimated to save €2.3 billion per year.
European rules on European soil– companies based outside of Europe will have to apply the same rules when offering services in the EU.
Risk-based approach: the rules will avoid a burdensome one-size-fits-all obligation and rather tailor them to the respective risks.
Rules fit for innovation: the regulation will guarantee that data protection safeguards are built into products and services from the earliest stage of development (Data protection by design). Privacy-friendly techniques such as pseudonomysation will be encouraged, to reap the benefits of big data innovation while protecting privacy.
Benefits for big and small alike
The data protection reform will stimulate economic growth by cutting costs and red tape for European business, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The EU's data protection reform will help SMEs break into new markets. Under the new rules, SMEs will benefit from four reductions in red tape:
No more notifications: Notifications to supervisory authorities are a formality that represents a cost for business of €130 million every year. The reform will scrap these entirely.
Every penny counts: Where requests to access data are manifestly unfounded or excessive, SMEs will be able to charge a fee for providing access.
Data Protection Officers: SMEs are exempt from the obligation to appoint a data protection officer insofar as data processing is not their core business activity.
Impact Assessments: SMEs will have no obligation to carry out an impact assessment unless there is a high risk.

Next steps
The final texts will be formally adopted by the European Parliament and Council at the beginning 2016. The new rules will become applicable two years thereafter.
There is still much to be understood about the impact on users of marketing data both B2C and B2B. We hope you find our newsletters of some use. If you have a question or would like some advice we'll try to help, just call us on 01626 777400.