Direct Marketing to Consumers

Direct marketing consists of any marketing that relies on direct communication to individual consumers, either by post, telephone or electronic means. Sending a product without the consumer’s order is forbidden in case payment, return, storage or other measures are required from the consumer. Demanding a reply is also forbidden. Sending samples is naturally allowed but requiring any measures in respect of such samples is not acceptable. Consumer Protection Act prohibits the use of aggressive procedures. Harassment, such as direct marketing in violation of the Data Protection Act or Information Society Code, is considered an aggressive practice. 

As direct marketing is personal, the advertiser has to make certain that the right person is addressed. Direct marketing cannot be sent to minors under 15 years without their parents’ consent. 

General Data Protection Regulation obliges the controller to inform the consumer already at the stage of collecting personal data if their personal data will be used for direct marketing. If this is not done, personal data may not be used for direct marketing. 

Electronic direct marketing, such as email or SMS marketing, requires recipient’s explicit consent prior to the marketing. Giving consent requires an active action, such as checking a box. For example, a marketer can’t obtain consent with an automatically pre-filled check box. 

If a company gets contacted by an individual customer in connection to a sale of a product or service via e-mail, sms, voice or picture message, the company may use this contact information to directly market its own products and services belonging to the same product group or otherwise. 

The company must give the person the opportunity, free of charge and easily, to deny the use and collecting of the contact information with every single e-mail, sms, voice or picture message. The company must also clearly communicate about this prohibition opportunity. 

Everyone has the right to prohibit the use of their personal data for direct marketing purposes. The method of prohibition varies according to the form of direct marketing. Direct marketing can be restricted by notifying the marketer or seller directly of the marketing ban, in which case the ban applies to the company in question. A person may also refuse to disclose their name and address information from information systems maintained by the authorities (Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) and the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom)) by registering telephone sales and direct mail restriction with the Data & Marketing Association of Finland (ASML) (Robinson-Telephone, Robinson-Mail). Services may be subject to a fee.