Direct marketing purposes
The purpose of direct marketing is to enable or maintain
a direct relationship between you and an organisation. The term ’direct
marketing’ does not include unaddressed door-to-door distribution
and market research. If, however, a bank were to send you a letter
containing offers of new products that have been selected for you,
then this does constitute direct marketing. If you receive a telephone
call during your evening meal by a telecommunications provider offering
you a subscription, this is also a type of direct marketing.
Conditions governing the use of personal data for direct marketing
purposes
For an organisation to contact you for direct
marketing purposes, it will first of all require your personal data.
In many cases, it will already be in possession of such data, as you
are already one of its customers. If that is not the case, an organisation
can purchase or rent your data from a third-party organisation.
The Wet bescherming persoonsgegevens (Wbp) [Dutch Data Protection Act]
stipulates what is and is not permitted when handling your personal data.
This act stipulates which rights you have and which obligations organisations
have that use your data in order to contact you with unsolicited advertising.
The College bescherming persoonsgegevens (CBP) [Dutch Data Protection
Authority (Dutch DPA)] is responsible for supervising compliance with
the Wbp.
You address data may be rented out or sold if you have authorised this
or if the organisation has a justified interest in
such use. These are the two main grounds underlying the trade in addresses
and the use of personal data for direct marketing purposes. Further information
about these can be found on the fact sheet entitled The
Disclosure of Your Personal Data [Verstrekken van uw persoonsgegevens ].
In addition to the Wbp, the Telecommunicatiewet (Tw) [Telecommunications
Act] also plays an important role in the case of certain types of advertising.
This act contains all regulations in the field of the electronic communications
sector. Advertising via the telephone and by e-mail also fall under the
scope of this act. Chapter 11 of the Tw includes stipulations governing
the use of personal data relating to subscribers and users by communications
providers, among others. The Onafhankelijke Post
en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit [Independent
Post and Telecommunications Authority] and the Dutch
DPA are both monitor compliance with chapter 11 of the Tw.
Justified interest
Your personal data may only be
used if this is necessary in order to look after the
justified interest of the organisation or that of another organisation
to which the data are being supplied. What this means is that
your data may be used within the context of normal
business activities or the everyday management of the
organisation. If the purpose of an organisation is
the trading in addresses, this activity will, in most
cases, fall within the normal business activities of
the organisation. This does not mean, however, that
they are permitted to contact you for advertising purposes
without your consent. The organisation must first of
all consider whether its interest in the use of your
data is equal to your rights and interests, including
your interest that your personal data should not unnecessarily
be distributed and your right not to be harassed by
unsolicited advertising material. Aspects that may
play a part when weighing up the interests of both
parties include the data actually being processed (do
they consist only of an individual’s name, address,
postcode and place of residence, or are further data
included?), the relationship with the customer (is
the data subject a regular or an occasional customer?),
how well-informed is the customer and how easy it is
for him to register his objection to the processing
of his data. Chapter 4 of the Dutch DPA study Koning
klant. Het gebruik van klantgegevens voor marketingdoeleinden [The
Client is King. The use of customer data for marketing
purposes] contains detailed examples of how these interests
are evaluated. The organisation must be able to demonstrate
to you and, if necessary, also to the Dutch DPA or
the courts that it has considered the customer’s
interests.
Consent
If the organisation has no justified interest
when using your data, you may be asked for your unequivocal
consent for the use of your data. ‘Unequivocal’ means
that there must be no doubt as to the specific use
that will be made of your personal data and for which
you have given your consent. This means that you must
be informed effectively and in advance as to the uses
to which you are giving your consent. You may withdraw
your consent at any time.
Obligation to provide information
An organisation is
not only obliged to inform you in all cases that require
your consent, but it must also do so as soon as it
has made use of your data. The organisation must inform
you about who it is, the purpose for which it will
use your data and what you can do if you do not agree.
The precise moment at which an organisation is required
to inform you depends upon the manner in which it obtained
your data. If the organisation obtains the data from
you personally, it must inform you of this in advance.
If the organisation obtains your address from another
organisation and uses this for advertising purposes,
however, you must always be informed as soon as you
receive unsolicited advertising material. Further information
about the duty of disclosure can be found in the fact
sheet entitled Your
right to Information [Uw recht op informatie].
What happens if the data are incorrect?
You have the
right to know what personal data an organisation holds
about you, what these are being used for and from where
these were obtained. You can request this information
using the model letter that
the Dutch DPA developed for this purpose. If an organisation
makes use of your data, it must provide you with a
summary of your personal data within four weeks of
your request to access to the data. It is also required
to state the purpose for which the data are being used,
who has received the data and from where the data have
been taken. In return for providing this information,
the organisation is entitled to make a charge not exceeding € €0.23
per page, up to a maximum of € € 4.50. Further
information about the right to view personal data can
be found in the fact sheet entitled Access
to Your Personal Data [Inzage in uw persoonsgegevens].
You
are also entitled to request that data be corrected.
This means that you may ask to have your personal
data corrected, supplemented, erased or blocked. Data
may only be corrected if they are incorrect, incomplete
or not relevant for the purpose for which they are
being used. Further information about the right to
correct data can be found in the fact sheet entitled
The Correction
of Your Personal Data [Correctie
van uw persoonsgegevens].
What happens if you do not wish to receive direct
mail or telephone calls?
As trading in addresses and the
use of personal data for direct marketing purposes
is, in many cases, permitted, the Wbp also grants data
subjects the right to lodge their objection. Invoking
this right enables you to prevent your personal data
from being sold or rented out. You may also avail yourself
of this entitlement in order to prevent telemarketing
and direct mail. If you lodge your objection to direct
marketing, you are not required to state the reason
for this objection. An organisation must respect your
objection at all times and may not impose a charge
for honouring this objection. You should ask the organisation
to confirm your complaint in writing within two weeks.
If you lodge your objection, the organisation may decide
to mark your data or to include it in a non-mailing
list.
How can you lodge your objection?
In practice, it
is best if you lodge your objection in writing with
the relevant organisation. You can use the Dutch DPA’s model
letter for
this purpose. If an organisation does not agree with
your complaint and you wish to take the matter to court,
you must demonstrate what steps you yourself have taken.
If the organisation does not respond to your request
or the response is not to your satisfaction, you may
ask the Dutch DPA to mediate. Even if you ask the Dutch
DPA to mediate, the Dutch DPA will first of all ask
you to submit a copy of any correspondence. Further
information about this can be found in the fact sheet
Mediation by
The Dutch DPA in Respect of Your Data [Bemiddeling
door het CBP inzake uw gegevens].
What can you object to?
Objection does not always mean
that an organisation may no longer use your data altogether.
The only restriction that then applies is that the
data no longer may be used for direct marketing purposes.
If you, for example, as a subscriber to a weekly magazine,
lodge an objection to the publisher of the magazine,
the publisher is still entitled to make use of your
data in order to send the magazine to you and to charge
the applicable subscription charge. However, the publisher
is no longer permitted to send you any offers or to
sell or rent out your data.
How should you be informed of your right to object?
An
organisation must inform you of your right to object:
- In every advertising message. This may be done,
for example, by providing a freepost address, a 0800
telephone number or an e-mail address, to which you
can send a message lodging your objection.
- By means of a general announcement, in the event
that the organisation supplies your personal data,
which it has obtained itself, to a third-party organisation
or in the event that it is making use of your personal
data on behalf of third-party organisations. A general
announcement is understood to involve the placing
of an advertisement in a newspaper, newsletter or
door-to-door newspaper. When data are being supplied
to others on a regular basis, the organisation is
obliged to notify you of your right to object at
least once a year.
Types of advertising
There are a number of different
channels that organisations can use in order to contact
you with offers:
- Door-to-door advertising
This takes the form of
leaflets that are placed in your letter box. They
are not addressed to you specifically, as the leaflets
involved do not carry your name or address. Neither
the Wbp nor the Tw, which contains a description
of the rights and duties apply in the case of door-to-door
advertising. The Reclame
Code Commissie [Dutch Advertising
Code Authority]
has drawn up the Code brievenbusreclame, huissampling
en direct response advertising [Code for door-to-door
advertising, home sampling and direct response advertising]
and the Code verspreiding ongeadresseerd reclamedrukwerk
[Code for the distribution of unaddressed advertising
material]. These codes contain rules and regulations
governing the content of advertising and its distribution.
- Addressed advertising material
This too takes
the form of leaflets that arrive via your letterbox,
but they are addressed specifically to you, in that
your name and/or address are included. Advertising
material that is addressed to the recipient is also
known as direct mail. This type of advertising is subject
to the Wbp, but not to the Tw. In addition, the Reclame
Code Commissie has
also drawn up the Code brievenbusreclame, huissampling
en direct response advertising [Code for door-to-door
advertising, home sampling and direct response advertising].
This code contains rules and regulations governing
the content of advertising and its distribution.
- Telephone
Organisations
may contact you by telephone either via your landline
or mobile telephone number. Contacting individuals
by telephone for advertising purposes is also known
as telemarketing. No consent is required for this
type of advertising, unless you have indicated in
advance that you do not wish to be contacted. The
organisation is, however, obliged actively to inform
you during each telephone conversation that you are
entitled to lodge an objection. Telemarketing is subject
both to the Wbp, as well as to the Tw. Telemarketing
is also required to comply with the Code Telemarketing
[Telemarketing Code], which is managed by the Reclame
Code Commissie.
- Fax,
e-mail, MMS and SMS
Organisations may contact you
by fax, e-mail, MMS or SMS. Unsolicited contact by
e-mail or mobile telephone (SMS or MMS) is also known
as spam. Spam also includes calling or faxing using
an automatic calling system, i.e. that you are called
by a computer. An automatic call made by internet
telephony is also known as spit. The sending of spam
or spit is forbidden, in accordance with the Tw,
unless you have given consent to this or you are,
or once were, a customer of the organisation. In
the latter instance, the advertising in question
must be for similar products or services. The organisation
is, however, obliged to inform you each time that you
are entitled to lodge an objection. The Reclame
Code Commissie has drawn
up the Code Verspreiding Reclame via e-mail [Code for
the Distribution of Advertising by e-mail]. The code
contains rules and regulations governing the sending
of advertising messages by e-mail, which, amongst other
things, impose limits as to the size and extent of
the e-mail.
The combating of unsolicited advertising
In order to
prevent the receipt of unsolicited advertising material,
you can take the following steps:
- Door-to-door advertising
There are two types
of stickers that you can stick to your letter
box. The nee/nee [no/no] sticker indicates
that you neither wish to receive unaddressed
advertising material nor door-to-door or local
newspapers. With the nee/ja [no/yes]
sticker, you
are only blocking unaddressed advertising material
and you will continue to receive the door-to-door
and local newspapers. The stickers can often
be picked up free of charge from your local government
offices.
If you
receive advertising material through your letter
box despite displaying the sticker, you may submit
a complaint to the advertiser or the distributor
of the materials. Sometimes the telephone number
of the distributor is printed on the material.
The distributor is obliged to investigate the complaint
and to provide a response within 4 weeks. If the
response does not come on time or if the complaint
has not been dealt with to your satisfaction, you
may lodge a complaint to the Reclame
Code Commissie [Dutch Advertising Code Authority].
- Addressed advertising
material
In order to prevent direct mail in the
future, you can register free of charge in a central
database known as the Infofilter that you do not want
to receive any addressed advertising material. You
can register for the Infofilter in 3 different ways:
- via the website of
the Stichting Infofilter
- on telephone number 0900-6661000
- by letter to the Stichting Infofilter
[Infofilter Foundation], Postbus 666,
1000 AR Amsterdam.
Your
data will remain in the database for a period
of 5 years and applies to all companies that are
linked to Infofilter. After this period, you must
re-register. As the next of kin of a deceased person,
you may also use Infofilter to register that you
no longer wish to receive any advertising material
in the name and address of the deceased individual.
If
you still receive addressed advertising material despite
having registered with Infofilter, you may make use
of your right to object. You can read about how to
do this elsewhere in this fact sheet.
Many people ask
for their personal data to be erased from a system
in order to prevent unsolicited advertising. However,
in order to prevent addressed advertising material,
it is better to lodge your objection against the use
of your data than to request that your data be erased.
If it is stated in a system that your data are blocked
for commercial activities, there is a good chance that
you will no longer receive any addressed advertising
material. This is in contrast to a situation in which
your data have been erased from the system. In that
case, there is a greater chance that you will still
receive advertising material. As soon as an organisation
rents or buys an address database belonging to another
body, which also includes your data, you will be contacted
once again in the form of direct marketing activities.
After all, by erasing your data, the organisation no
longer knows that you do not wish to receive any advertising
material.
If an organisation does not comply with the
Code brievenbusreclame, huissampling en direct response
advertising [Code for door-to-door advertising,
home sampling and direct response advertising],
you may lodge a complaint to the Reclame
Code Commissie.
- Telephone
In order to prevent telemarketing in the
future, you can register free of charge in a central
database, known as the Infofilter, that you do
not wish to receive any offers by telephone.
You can register in the Infofilter in 3 different
ways:
- via the website of
the Stichting Infofilter
- on telephone number 0900-6661000
- by letter to the Stichting Infofilter [Infofilter
Foundation], Postbus 666, 1000 AR Amsterdam.
Your data will remain in the database for a period
of 5 years and applies to all companies that
are linked to Infofilter. After this period, you
must re-register.
If you receive offers by telephone
despite having registered in the Infofilter, you may
state during the conversation that you do not wish
to receive such calls. If you are not satisfied with
the response to that request, you may lodge a complaint
to the Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie
Autoriteit (OPTA) [Independent Post and Telecommunication
Authority] using a Telemarketing complaint form
from the Consuwijzer [ConsuGuide].
If
an organisation does not comply with the Code Telemarketing
[Telemarketing Code], you may lodge a complaint to
the Reclame Code Commissie [Dutch Advertising Code
Authority]. You may also lodge your complaint to the Stichting
Consumentenlijn Telemarketing [Telemarketing Consumer Line
Foundation].
If you no longer wish to be contacted by
market researchers on the telephone, you can register
with the Stichting
Infofilter [Infofilter Foundation]. You
can also de-register for contact by market
researchers via the website www.uwmeningtelt.nl.
This website is an initiative of the MarktOnderzoekAssociatie
(MOA) [Market Research Association]. The MOA
is an information centre for market research
and opinion polls, an association that brings
together providers and users of market research.
Mr.
Heemskerk, the State Secretary for Economic Affairs announced
in July 2007 that he wishes to convert the Infofilter
into a legally obligatory ‘don’t
call me’ register. His plan is for this
measure to take effect at the beginning of
2008. In due time, the Dutch DPA will amend
this fact sheet.
- Fax, e-mail, MMS and SMS
In the case of unsolicited
contact via fax, e-mail, MMS and SMS, you can lodge
a complaint to OPTA via the website.
You may also submit a complaint about your
provider to the Geschillencommissie
Telecommunicatie [Telecommunications
Disputes Committee]. Your provider must however
be a member of the Geschillencommissie. For complaints
about violating the Code Verspreiding Reclame via
e-mail [Code for the Distribution of Advertising
by e-mail], you can contact the Reclame
Code Commissie directly.
Table of unsolicited advertising
Medium |
The combating of
unsolicited advertising |
Submit a complaint
to: |
Legislation and
regulations |
Letter box (door-to-door
advertising) |
Nee/nee [no/no]
or nee/ja [no/yes] sticker |
Reclame Code Commissie
[Dutch Advertising Code Authority] |
Code brievenbusreclame,
huissampling en direct response advertising [Code
for door-to-door advertising, home sampling and
direct response advertising]
Code verspreiding ongeadresseerde reclamedrukwerk
[Code for the distribution of unaddressed advertising
material] |
Letter box (addressed
advertising material) |
Report to the Stichting
Infofilter [Infofilter Foundation] and invoke
your right to object. |
Reclame Code Commissie
[Dutch Advertising Code Authority]
Dutch DPA (mediation)
|
Wbp
Code brievenbusreclame, huissampling en direct
response advertising [Code for door-to-door
advertising, home sampling and direct response
advertising]
|
Telephone |
Telemarketing: report
to the Stichting Infofilter [Infofilter Foundation]
and invoke your right to object.
Market research by telephone : report
to the Stichting Infofilter [Infofilter Foundation]
or block via www.uwmeningtelt.nl |
OPTA (via the ConsuGuide)
Reclame Code Commissie
Consumentenlijn Telemarketing [Dutch Advertising
Code Authority Telemarketing Consumer Line]
|
Wbp
Tw
Telemarketing Code |
Fax, e-mail, MMS
and SMS |
For measures see:
www.spamklacht.nl |
OPTA (via www.spamklacht.nl)
Geschillencommissie Telecommunicatie [Telecommunications
Disputes Committee]
Reclame Code Commissie [Dutch Advertising
Code Authority] |
Wbp
Tw
Code verspreiding reclame via e-mail [Code
for the Distribution of Advertising by e-mail]. |
Please consult the fact sheet for further details about the above table
Addresses
College bescherming
persoonsgegevens (CBP)
[Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA)]
Postbus 93374
2509 AJ The Hague
Telephone number +31 (0)70-8888500
www.mijnprivacy.nl and/or www.cbpweb.nl
|
Onafhankelijke
Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit (OPTA)
[Independent Post and Telecommunication Authority]
www.spamklacht.nl
|
Consuwijzer [ConsuGuide]
Postbus 21021
3001 AA Rotterdam
Telephone number +31(0)88-070 70 70
www.consuwijzer.nl
|
Stichting Consumentenlijn
Telemarketing
[Telemarketing Consumer Line Foundation]
Telephone number 0900-2442442
www.telemarketinglijn.nl
|
Geschillencommissie
Telecommunicatie
[Telecommunications Disputes Committee]
Postbus 90600
2509 LP The Hague
Telephone number +31 (0)70-3105310
www.geschillencommissie.nl |
Stichting Infofilter
[Infofilter Foundation]
Postbus 666
1000 AR Amsterdam
Telephone number 0900-6661000
www.infofilter.nl
|
MarktOnderzoekAssociatie
(MOA)
[Market Research Association]
Telephone number: +31 (0)20-6869328
www.uwmeningtelt.nl
|
Stichting Reclame
Code
[Advertising Code Foundation]
Attn. Reclame Code Commissie [Dutch Advertising Code Authority]
Postbus 75684
1070 AR Amsterdam
www.reclamecodecommissie.nl
|
|