There is no need to spend too much time remembering the rain, the torrent I should say, of consent-request emails received before 25 May 2018 in anticipation of the famous European regulation coming into force. That regulation was supposed to turn everything upside down and wipe out publishers, advertisers and agencies alike… blah blah blah!
The merchants of anxiety
Let us be lenient all the same. It is true that we read all sorts of nonsense on social media, and some even took advantage of the widespread anxiety to offer compliance solutions that were dubious to say the least. I refer you to the recommendations from the CNIL and the DGCCRF published on the CNIL website, which brief you on abusive practices:
https://www.cnil.fr/fr/pratiques-abusives-mise-en-conformite-RGPD-CNIL-DGCCRF
In this article, we simply wanted to focus on the B2B prospecting environment and clarify what we can and cannot do, what the GDPR does and does not address, and the laws and texts in force. We do not claim to set ourselves up here as legal advisers or to tell you what to do for your compliance ;-). Nevertheless, as a B2B data solutions provider, we are happy to help you see things clearly and discuss all this with you. Do not hesitate to contact the team here
GDPR and B2B prospecting… To be fairly brief and clear
Those who were already compliant with the LCEN law and the French Data Protection Act (Informatique et Libertés) are, by definition, already almost compliant with the GDPR… now is that not good news?
What does this mean?
You can contact a person at their place of work (by phone, by professional email, by post at their workplace), whether or not that person is a customer of your company, provided that:
- your message is in line with their professional profile (their role, their sector of activity). No messages aimed at B2C consumers,
- with each approach, you clearly and unambiguously offer a way to leave your database, an unsubscribe link. It goes without saying that the wish to unsubscribe, or the right to object, rectify or erase, must be scrupulously respected,
- the person has been informed that their professional email appears in your database because their profile matches suitable services you offer, for example,
- your company is clearly identifiable and reachable where appropriate
I refer you to an article published by the CNIL that sums all this up very clearly: https://www.cnil.fr/fr/la-prospection-commerciale-par-courrier-electronique
In short, you need to distinguish between the notion of prior consent (the famous opt-in that governs B2C prospecting in particular) and the notion of prior information.
The European regulation has not changed this paradigm in France. You have the right to work your company database in a reasonable way that respects professional individuals… just as before, in fact!
On 25 May 2018, the SNCD (the French national union of direct communication players) set things straight on its side by publishing this instructive and very enlightening infographic too:
https://www.sncd.org/wp-content/uploads/SNCD-infographie-RGPD-20180518.pdf
GDPR and B2B prospecting… What to remember according to Mixdata
- The GDPR does not change the rules applicable to prospecting emails, whether they are B2B or B2C. The rules on electronic prospecting actually depend on the e-Privacy Directive, transposed into French law under Article L.34-5 of the Postal and Electronic Communications Code.
- The GDPR makes the players processing data (data controllers and processors) more accountable and strengthens individuals’ rights, and that can only be positive.
- You can carry on working, provided you respect the rights and freedoms of the people behind each professional email address… but was this common sense not already necessary before?
Want to work with B2B files that are GDPR-compliant?
Do not hesitate to get in touch with our sales team to find out more…
