Unsolicited Text Messages

Can marketers accumulate phone numbers from general advertisements in for example newspapers or online advertising sites and send text messages about their service/products. These text messages would be related to the item advertised.

See below sourced from :[broken link removed]


Electronic mail (i.e. a text message, voice message, sound message, image message, multimedia message or email message) for the purpose of direct marketing cannot be sent to you without your prior consent unless it is from someone with whom you have a current customer relationship. The Data Protection Commissioner considers that, in order to comply with the provision of the Data Protection Acts concerning the retention of data for no longer than is necessary, and in line with best practice, a ‘current customer relationship’ exists only where a business and a customer have engaged in a business transaction within the previous twelve months. The rules for direct marketing using electronic mail are simple:

Marketers may send you electronic mail for direct marketing purposes where:
(i)

• You have given them explicit consent to do so within the last twelve months, or

(ii)

• they have obtained your personal contact details in the course of a sale to you of a product or service within the last twelve months, they informed you of their identity, the purpose in collecting your contact details, the persons or categories of persons to whom your personal data may be disclosed and any other information which is necessary so that processing may be fair, and
  <LI style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none" class=MsoNormal>the direct marketing they are sending is in respect of their similar* products and services only, and
• you were given a simple cost-free means of refusing the use of your contact details for direct marketing purposes at the time your details were initially collected, and where you did not initially refuse the use of those details, you are given a similar option at the time of each subsequent communication. (If you fail to unsubscribe using the cost-free means provided to you by the direct marketer, you will be deemed to have remained opted-in to the receipt of such electronic mail for a twelve month period from the date of issue to you of the most recent marketing electronic mail).

Marketers may not send you any electronic mail for direct marketing purposes in the following circumstances:

• <LI style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none" class=MsoNormal>if you have not given your prior consent to receiving such mail within the last twelve months in accordance with the options set out above, <LI style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none" class=MsoNormal>if the identity of the sender has been disguised or concealed or a valid address to which you can send an opt-out request has not been provided, and additionally, where the electronic mail is an email communication, a valid address at which the sender may be contacted has not been provided.
• if you have joined a club to which you pay a subscription for text, multimedia or email message services, unless the direct marketing is directly related to a similar* product or service to the subscription club of which you are a member,

If you are receiving electronic marketing messages contrary to these rules, you may complain to the Data Protection Commissioner.

Marketing Departments seem to pick up phone numbers from adverts - if you have your phone number on a advertisement i.e. in the public domain - can they do this? I see the above from the Data Protection Commissioner but it seems to be happening more and more

Marketing Departments seem to pick up phone numbers from adverts - if you have your phone number on a advertisement i.e. in the public domain - can they do this?

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As per the data commission info as posted above, it appears they cannot. Make a complaint.