This law is not just for companies in Europe. If your business is anywhere in the world, you must follow GDPR. This is true if you call people who live in the European Union. The rules are strict. For example, if you collect data from a website, you must be clear. You must tell people exactly what you will do with their information. This is called transparency. It is one of the main ideas behind GDPR.
The Two Main Rules for Making Calls
When you make a telemarketing call, you are using someone's japan telegram data personal data. So you must have a legal reason to do so. Under GDPR, there are two main legal reasons. These are called "legal bases." The first one is called consent. The second is called legitimate interest. We will look at both of these in detail.
Consent means a person has given you their clear permission. This permission must be active. It cannot be something a person just forgot to uncheck. For example, a website might have a box that says "Yes, please call me with offers." The person must click this box themselves. The box should not be pre-checked. This is a very important rule. The consent must also be for a specific purpose. If someone agrees to receive emails, that does not mean they agree to get a phone call. You must get their permission for each type of contact.
Furthermore, it must be easy for a person to say no later. The person must be able to change their mind. This is called withdrawing consent. It should be as easy to withdraw consent as it was to give it. Therefore, if a person asks you to stop calling, you must do so right away. You must also delete their phone number from your lists. This is part of the "right to be forgotten."
The Meaning of Legitimate Interest
The second legal reason is called legitimate interest. This one is a bit more complex. Legitimate interest means that your company has a real and good reason to process someone's data. This reason must be business-related. For example, you might be calling a company to sell a business service. The service is relevant to their work. In this case, you might have a legitimate interest to make the call.
However, your interest must not be more important than the person's rights. You must balance your business needs with their right to privacy. The person should not be surprised by your call. The call should also be what they might expect. For example, calling a CEO to offer a business software is okay. But calling a private citizen on their home number to sell a product is not. In this case, the person’s right to privacy is more important. You need to do a special test for this. It is called a Legitimate Interest Assessment.
Understanding the Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA)
A Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) is a three-part test. It helps you decide if you can use legitimate interest as your reason to call. First, you must have a clear business purpose. You need to know exactly what you are trying to do. For example, is your goal to find new clients? Or is it to sell a new product to an old client? Second, you must show that using their data is necessary. Is this the only way to meet your goal? For example, is a phone call the best way to contact them? Or would an email work better?
Third and most important, you must balance your interests with the person's rights. You must ask a few key questions. Would the person expect this call? Is the call likely to cause them any harm or upset? Are you calling at a good time? You must record your answers to these questions. This record proves that you thought about their rights. You need to keep this record in case someone complains. This shows that you were trying to follow the rules.
How to Stay Safe and Follow the Rules
There are many ways to make sure you are following GDPR. First, you must get your data from a good source. You cannot just buy a list of phone numbers and start calling. If you get a list from a third party, you need proof. You need to show that everyone on that list has already agreed to get calls from you. This is very important.
Furthermore, you must check your lists against "Do Not Call" lists. In the UK, this is the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). If a number is on the TPS, you must not call it. This is true even if you think you have a legitimate interest. If someone tells you they do not want calls, you must write it down. You must then remove their number from your list.
Fines and Real-World Examples
If you do not follow GDPR, the fines can be very high. They can be up to 20 million Euros. Or they can be up to 4% of your company's yearly global income. Whichever number is bigger is the one that will be used. These fines are meant to be a warning. They show that data privacy is very serious.
For example, a company in Italy was fined a lot of money. They used a large list of phone numbers. They did not check if the people had given their permission. They also made up signatures for contracts. This was a clear violation. The company got a huge fine. This shows that the rules are not just words on paper. They are real and are enforced.
The Right to Object
Under GDPR, people have many rights. One of the most important for telemarketing is the right to object. This means a person can tell you to stop calling them for marketing. If they say no, you must stop right away. You cannot try to convince them. You cannot call them again. This right is absolute. You do not need a reason to stop calling. This is a very clear rule.
Training Your Team
Finally, you must train your team. Your employees need to know the rules. They must understand what consent is. They must also know what to do when someone says they do not want to be called. They should be polite and respectful. They should also record every request to stop calling. This ensures that your company stays compliant. Good training is one of the best ways to avoid problems. It protects both your company and your customers.