Category: UK

Just 12% of people in the UK believe their mobile calls and texts remain private, with 35% so concerned that they’re careful what they say when making a private call on a mobile device.

Almost a quarter of people (24%) actively avoid making sensitive calls on a mobile phone in a bid to win back some privacy.

Those are the findings from a study of 1,000 employed people, sponsored by global private communications firm, Silent Circle and conducted via OnePoll.

The study reveals that more than half (54%) of the poll respondents believe ‘anyone with the right equipment’ has the ability to listen in on their mobile calls and texts. With the recent confirmation by Vodafone of secret wires on its network, surprisingly 20% believe it’s OK to listen in on people’s calls. A defiant 61% of respondents would like to see tougher jail sentences for snoopers and eavesdroppers.

Vic Hyder, revenue chief for Silent Circle, said: “What our study confirms is that the wider working population of the UK is aware of the ever-increasing threats to the data we transmit via mobile technology. They know of eavesdropping capabilities, but in many ways are consigned to the abuse – not just from Government but from criminal scavengers and corporate competition.

The ‘groups’ that respondents cited as having the ability to eavesdrop/listen in on calls and texts were – Government (53%); the police (44%); mobile service providers (33%); and criminals (28%). A further 17% pointed the finger at a jealous spouse/partner.

Privacy is increasingly eroded, around the globe. In the UK, having every move recorded by CCTV is just one example of the daily incursions on each and every citizen’s private life. Hyder added: “Privacy is a commodity that is more and more difficult to find. In today’s world of forced exposure, you are the product and your information is the currency.”

Other interesting trends unearthed by the study, particularly when comparing the sexes, were that men are more cynical with 59% pointing the figure at Government, compared with 48% of women. Although females were far more condemnatory, with 82% believing it wrong to listen in on others’ calls and texts, the figure was slightly lower for men, at 77%.

When comparing the ages of respondents, those aged 45+ were ‘believers’ with 77% suggesting anyone with the right equipment could listen in to calls and texts, while 73% of workers aged 55+ want to see perpetrators jailed.

Hyder said: “Everyone feels the need for privacy at some time or another, practically each and every day. Whether it’s closing the door to your office while negotiating contract details or turning your head in the coffee shop while discussing a family matter. Privacy is appreciated by all and all should have a place to go to be private – even in a digital smartphone world with eyes and ears nearly everywhere.”

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered a marketing company based in Glasgow to stop bombarding the public with nuisance marketing calls.

DC Marketing Limited made the calls to try to get people to purchase solar panels partly financed by the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. An ICO investigation found the company also frequently gave a false name to avoid detection.

It is against UK law for a company to make marketing calls to an individual who has opted out of receiving them by registering with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or informing the company directly. It is also against the law for a company to give out false information in an attempt to avoid detection.

The ICO became aware that DC Marketing Limited was still contacting individuals who had asked not to be contacted after 280 reports were made to the TPS and the ICO from angry members of the public.

ICO Assistant Commissioner for Scotland, Ken Macdonald, said: “The law is clear. Companies must not contact individuals who have asked not to be called. DC Marketing Limited failed to respect people’s wishes and even lied in order to try and avoid detection.

“They have now been punished for their actions and served with an enforcement notice ordering them to stop making nuisance calls. If the company breaches the notice, then it will be treated as a criminal offence.”

The ICO has published detailed guidance for companies carrying out marketing explaining their legal requirements under the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. The guidance covers the circumstances in which organisations are able to carry out marketing over the phone, by text, by email, by post or by fax.

The ICO is also continuing to work with the government, OFCOM, the telecommunications industry and consumer groups, including Which?, to tackle the problem of nuisance calls. Further information about this work can be found on the ‘What action have we taken?’ section of the ICO website.

UK domain registrar, 123-reg, has embarked on a comprehensive television advertising campaign in a bid to encourage viewers to get their businesses online and to drive public awareness of the next generation of generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs).

The adverts, which are running throughout May and June across a range of sports and men’s interest channels, including Dave and BT Sport, have been developed in conjunction with digital production agency, 383 Project.

Designed to appeal specifically to an ABC1 male audience, the adverts take a humorous approach to explore the possibilities presented by new domains such as .london, .webcam, .club, .xyz, .build and pub, and .dating.

Nick Leech, group marketingdirector at 123-reg’s parent company, Host Europe Group, said: “As a business that talks day-in, day-out, about the importance of being online, this approach may, to some, seem counterintuitive. But for all the talk of the age of the internet, the fact is that there remains a hard core of businesses and individuals that don’t yet feel comfortable online.

“Recent research has found that nearly 50 per cent of UK SMEs have no web presence at all. In taking our message on TV, we aim to show the scope and diversity of new gTLDs, showing that there is one for every different business or person, as well as promoting our brand to a totally new audience.

“Traditional marketing techniques remain incredibly important for businesses, helping to drive and reinforce brand recognition and market awareness. As such, we have made a concerted effort to strengthen our marketing footprint in traditional channels, and this television campaign follows sustained outdoor and above the line activity we have been trialling with considerable success over the past  year,’’ he concluded.

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Simon Entwisle reports from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

A year ago, I wrote about the top five myths of unwanted marketing calls and texts. If I was writing that list again today, I think there’d be a worthy contender to be the ‘sixth myth’: that a small minority of rogue companies are behind the calls and texts.

It is certainly true that organisations with little regard for the law do exist, and we spend a chunk of our time looking to target them, but there are just as many – if not more – messages and calls coming from big name, respected organisations.

That’s borne out in the quarterly enforcement update we published yesterday. The update lists the action we’ve taken this year and features some well-known brands.

Perhaps the most eye-catching will be the mobile phone network EE (Everything Everywhere). We have concerns about their compliance with the law around both sales calls and marketing text messages, and we’ve already been in touch with them to be clear that enforcement action is a possibility. Our concerns are prompted by consumer concerns, and as we work with them over the coming months, we’ll be monitoring what consumers are telling us about them.

With the right changes, it can be a positive journey; one that BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting) has already completed. They were identified as prompting a large number of complaints before Christmas, but we’ve since worked with them to improve processes and we now feel enforcement action is unlikely to be required.

That improving of processes is crucial. The majority of organisations do not want to make nuisance calls and texts – after all, annoyed consumers don’t tend to sign up to a new product or service. But through poor processes, they’re either getting their call lists wrong – for instance calling customers who’ve left several years before – or they’re not being clear about how they’ll use a customer’s details, so someone signing up to their service doesn’t realise the terms and conditions mean they’ll receive marketing calls.

Being contacted by the ICO is usually enough of a jolt to these businesses to get them to sort out their processes, and the complaints quickly tail off. And where we don’t see the improvements we expect, we have the power to look at enforcement action: we’ve issued three enforcement notices already this year (and one preliminary notice), while the fine we issued in April took our total fines in this area to over a million pounds. We’ve also prosecuted three lead generation and marketing companies for non-notification offences, criminal breaches under the Data Protection Act.

Our work, alongside that of the other regulators and organisations working hard to combat nuisance calls and texts, has prompted a significant reduction in the number of concerns being reported to us over the last year. But while the trend is positive, there’s no time for complacency, with a slight rise from January to March. While we can put some of this down to the same seasonal rise we saw last year as people return from the Christmas and New Year break, it shows there’s still plenty more work to be done.

Finally, it’s worth noting the statistics suggest that the nature of the calls and texts being made is changing. We have seen a significant reduction in the number of concerns about messages relating to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), with a growth in those around green energy initiatives and so-called ‘scrappage schemes’. The latter two are now responsible for 42% of all the concerns raised, and will be a focus of our work moving forward.

Simon Entwisle is ICO director of operations, responsible for all the operational functions of the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, including Customer Contact, Case Resolution, Enforcement and Good Practice as well as the Assistant Commissioners in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Many of the UK’s major brands could be unwittingly using illegal data to fuel their direct marketing campaigns after it was revealed that up to 90 local authorities have been selling on opted-out Electoral Roll information.
The cock-up, which has affected as many as one-in-four councils in England and Wales, has been reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office. However, instead of launching its own investigation, the ICO has asked councils that may have been affected by to come forward.
Three councils in Wales – Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and Caerphilly – and Wokingham Council in Berkshire are the only ones that have so far admitted to the gaffe.
The Daily Mail newspaper has claimed that Reading-based software company Idox is responsible for the mistake, which has seen the details of those who ticked the opt-out box passed on to third-party companies.
Although most companies rarely rely solely on ER data, it is an essential tool for charities and many data firms which supply major brands use the information for verification purposes.
A spokesman for the ICO told the Daily Mail: “The full version of the ER should only be used for elections, preventing and detecting crime and checking applications for credit. Any suggestion that it has been made available for other purposes raises clear data protection concerns.
“We are aware that a number of councils have reported that a software error has resulted in the full ER being made available more widely than it should have been. We are currently making enquiries into these potential data breaches.”
The opt-out box was first introduced just over a decade ago after retired accountant Brian Robertson won a High Court case after objecting to ER’s use for marketing purposes. He successfully claimed that the resultant “junk mail” was an unjustified interference in his private and family life.
Last year, privacy group Big Brother Watch demanded that councils should even be banned from selling the edited ER, after releasing figures which showed more than 300 local authorities sold it to more than 2,700 private companies and individuals. It claimed the sale undermined trust in the electoral
This was first published on Decision Marketing. For more breaking news and opinion pieces on direct, data and digital marketing in the UK visit us at www.decisionmarketing.co.uk