The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has commissioned research which found that 29% of 18–34 year-olds received unwanted contact after giving their personal information to a business.
The poll commissioned by the ICO in which 2,289 UK adults aged 18+ between 28-31 July were asked a series of questions revealed that nearly a third of 18–34-year-olds who responded to its poll had been victims of this practice. It further found that younger people were more likely to mistakenly believe it to be a legal act.
Although there is no set definition, text pests are individuals who use personal information, such as a phone number or email address which they have been given in a business context for romantic or sexual propositions. An example is when a customer has been asked out on a date after ordering a takeaway.
The ICO has taken steps for victims of text pests to come forward by setting up a call. This will allow the regulator to gather evidence of illegal behaviour.
Key findings
The respondents were asked three questions:
1. Has anyone ever used your personal information (phone number, name, email address etc.), given to them for a business reason, to approach you with a romantic or sexual proposition?
2. Do you think using someone’s personal information (phone number, name, email address etc.) provided for a business reason, to contact them with a romantic or sexual proposition is legal, illegal, or a matter of personal judgement?
3. What is your view of using someone’s personal information (phone number, name, email address etc.) provided for a business reason, to contact them with a romantic or sexual proposition?
Key findings from the research found that:
- 17% of the public have had their personal information given for a business reason used for a romantic or sexual proposition. This includes 30% of 18-24s, 29% of 25-34s, and 25% of 35-44s.
- 9% of the public believe that the use of personal information provided for business reasons for romantic or sexual propositions is legal. 24% believe it to be neither legal nor illegal, but a matter of personal judgment. 56% believe it to be illegal.
- 66% of the public believe it is not morally right to use personal details given for business purposes for romantic or sexual propositions. 20% believe it to be morally neither right nor wrong and 5% of the public believe it to be morally right.
The law
One of the key principles under Article 5 of the UK GDPR, is the purpose limitation.
Article 5(1)(b) says:
“1. Personal data shall be:
(b) collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall, in accordance with Article 89(1), not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes.”
Therefore, under this principle, the purpose of the data collected by businesses including delivery services is to deliver the product or service. By individuals using someone’s personal data to contact them for romantic and sexual propositions, they are using information for a new purpose without specific consent. Another important point is that the new purpose will need to be compatible with its original purposes which in this case it is not.
Comment
The key findings from the research highlight the importance of reviewing the unauthorised use of personal information for romantic and sexual propositions. The ICO hopes more victims will come forward in order to learn more about the safeguards that major customer-facing employers in the country have in place.
How can Nelsons help
If you have any questions concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Dispute Resolution team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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