New marketing guidance to help you understand the law

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new direct marketing guidance on live marketing calls and electronic mail

The guidance covers legal requirements for businesses, as well as best practices they should follow when making live marketing calls and sending electronic marketing messages.

The ICO's live marketing calls guidance will tell you what counts as a live marketing call, what the rules are and how to comply with them. It also discusses the relationship between the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and data protection.

The ICO's electronic mail guidance covers what you must do to comply with PECR if you want to send direct marketing by electronic mail. It makes it clear what counts as marketing, the difference between solicited and unsolicited mail and what to do if someone objects.

If you haven't yet read the ICO 's guide to PECR, you may find it useful to read that first. It introduces both electronic and telephone marketing topics and sets out the key points you need to know, along with a practical checklist to help you comply.

First published 7 November 2022