Address trading soon over? Trading in consumer addresses could soon be on the verge of ending. According to research by NDR and Süddeutscher Zeitung, almost all German state data protection officers are of the opinion that strict European data protection law no longer allows such data to be passed on for advertising purposes unless those affected have been fully informed and consented. According to industry experts, under these conditions, address trading as before would hardly be possible anymore.
According to data protection experts, since the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, address dealers can no longer rely on a “legitimate interest” when selling consumers’ postal addresses. According to most state data protection authorities, European law, which is stricter than previous German law, requires that consumers must first be informed.
“Informed in this context means that they must be informed in advance, without being asked, about who wants what information and for what purposes and whether personal data such as address data should also be passed on and for how long it should be used,” says the state data protection officer Baden-Württemberg, Stefan Brink. This information is “a real hurdle,” says Brink. In this context, not only has the legal situation changed, “but also the expectations of consumers. They no longer want to be confronted and harassed with unwanted, unsolicited so-called consumer information.”
Address trading before the end
Peter Hornung, NDR, May 3, 2022 · 6:00 p.m
The lobby of address retailers, the German Direct Marketing Association (DDV), is already warning of the negative consequences of such a decision. According to DDV President Patrick Tapp, this would have “serious economic consequences, because selected mail advertising is an important driver for the European economy.” The DDV reads European data protection law differently and sees statements by state data protection officers as merely “legal opinions”. In the opinion of the association, address trading continues to be permitted without restrictions.
Other characteristics can be stored together with these addresses - such as age, occupation or whether you live in a rented apartment or your own home. According to DDV President Tapp, it is particularly important for young companies to send tailored advertising by post, for example to attract new customers. This is exactly what the Baden-Württemberg state data protection officer Stefan Brink sees as a problem. Such advertising requires “that the advertising industry also knows the wishes and preferences of the consumer, i.e. that it creates so-called profiles with interests and previous purchasing behavior.” They must also be able to defend themselves against this. “Nobody has to be screened in advance for advertising purposes,” says Brink.
A spokesman for the Berlin data protection authority explained that they wanted to bring about a decision as part of the data protection conference, the nationwide body of supervisory authorities, in order to present themselves uniformly to the outside world. Only the state data protection officer of North Rhine-Westphalia has so far stated that she considers address trading in its current form to continue to be permissible.
Source: NDR Norddeutscher Rundfunk
More articles on the topic: “ Data collectors ”
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