Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003

Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 2003/2426
Introduced by	Stephen Timms (Commons)
Dates
Made	18 September 2003
Laid before Parliament	18 September 2003
Commencement	11 December 2003
Other legislation
Amends	Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 Electronic Communications (Universal Service) Order 2003
Repeals/revokes	Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999 Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) (Amendment) Regulations 2000
Made under	European Communities Act 1972
Transposes	ePrivacy Directive
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 is a law in the United Kingdom which made it unlawful to, amongst other things, transmit an automated recorded message for direct marketing purposes via a telephone, without prior consent of the subscriber. The law implements an EU directive, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive 2002.^[1]

One of the key tenets of this legislation upholds that it is unlawful to send someone direct marketing if they have not specifically granted permission (via an opt-in agreement) in the absence of a previous relationship between the parties. Organisations cannot merely add people's details to their marketing database and offer an opt out after they have started sending direct marketing. For this reason the regulations offer increased consumer protection from direct marketing.^[1]

The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the European Union. The Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for the enforcement of unsolicited e-mails and considers complaints about breaches. A breach of an enforcement notice is a criminal offence subject to a fine of up to £500,000 depending on the circumstances.^[1]