Until October 2007, the view of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had been that email marketing laws applied to Bluetooth technology. This gave rise to questions about how these laws could be applied in practice, particularly how to obtain appropriate consent.
However, last month the ICO revised its guidance so that Bluetooth technology is now excluded. Its view is that the relevant laws will only apply to messages sent over a public communications network and that Bluetooth messages are not in fact sent using such a network.
However, regardless of the legislation, consumers are increasingly concerned about the sophisticated uses to which their information is put. As such, the ICO suggests organisations should still take consumers' concerns into account and consult industry guidelines on good marketing practice.
The DMA is also urging marketers to exercise caution with Bluetooth campaigns, and it considers that the spirit of the rules for email marketing should apply to any electronic messaging medium. It recommends that its members err on the side of caution when considering the permission implications of Bluetooth. A consent-based approach may still be appropriate in certain cases to help consumers recognise legitimate marketing.
- Elizabeth Upton is a solicitor at international law firm Bird & Bird.
.jpg)
.jpg)