In 2015, the actions of data brokers came under media scrutiny. Also looking into them was the UK Direct Marketing Commission (DMC) which investigated DMA members that were the subject of complaints.
From the beginning of July in 2014 to the end of June last year, the DMC received 262 complaints direct from the public. Of these, 60 related to DMA (Direct Marketing Association) members and the remainder were referred to the appropriate statutory or self-regulatory body. There were five formal investigations and most of these involved issues that had affected many of the general public and had been the cause of hundreds of complaints to other bodies or media criticism.
In two cases, the commission upheld breaches of the DMA code. In three cases, the commission set out where it thought reforms were needed to ensure future compliance with the DMA code. In all cases, the changes were agreed. In each case, the commission shares its findings with the DMA and it has been an active contributor to initiatives by the association to ensure DMA membership is seen as proof of a commitment to standards and trust in the market place.
Complaints have typically been around consent to marketing calls and messages, how and when it was given and how the data was then used.
DMC Chief Commissioner, George Kidd, said: “The DMA code says members are responsible for the proper sourcing, consents and cleansing of the data they trade and that members are responsible for the actions of their suppliers. The DMC wants to make sure that these rules are applied. We see it as a problem if things go wrong and members tell us they relied on the assurances of others that consent has been given for the use of data but did nothing to check that this was true.
“It’s simply not good enough for people to buy and sell data if they have no means of satisfying themselves that the people involved have given consent for the information to be shared in the way proposed.
“Consent is something people give, not something that is taken.”
From the beginning of this year, the DMC has appointed two new industry commissioners to help in its work – Fuel CEO Charles Ping and Fedelma Good, director of information policy and strategy at Barclays, who replaces retiring commissioners David Coupe and Danny Meadows-Klue.
Charles Ping and Fedelma Good are both data specialists. Good began her career in banking in Dublin, gaining her MSc in computer science, and then moving to London where she further built her career with Deloitte, Equifax, Acxiom and running her own consultancy before going back to banking, this time with Barclays as Director of Information Policy and Strategy.
Ping has more than 25 years’ experience as a client, a supplier and running an agency. He is also a former chairman of the Direct Marketing Association and, for the past ten years, has been a non-executive director of the Advertising Standards Board of Finance, which regulates non-broadcast advertising.
The DMC’s annual report can be downloaded here.
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