
![]() |
Brian Sims
Editor |
Home> | Security | >IT Security | >BT fined £77,000 for spam emails |
BT fined £77,000 for spam emails
21 June 2018
BRITISH TELECOM (BT) has been fined £77,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office after it sent nearly five million nuisance emails to customers.
The investigation found that the company did not have customers’ consent to send direct marketing emails. ICO head of enforcement Steve Eckersley, said: “Organisations have a responsibility to ensure they are acting within the law. Where they do not, the ICO can and will take action. This particular investigation was prompted by a concerned member of the public. We investigated the matter and uncovered the full extent of this activity which shows how important it is for people to report nuisance emails.”
The 4.9 million emails were sent between December 2015 and November 2016 promoting three charity initiatives: the BT ‘My Donate’ platform, Giving Tuesday and Stand up to Cancer.
During the investigation, BT accepted that emails for Giving Tuesday and Stand up to Cancer were unlawful but disputed the assessment that My Donate emails were direct marketing.
The Commissioner found that all of the emails sent constituted marketing and were not simply service messages. These messages were found to have been delivered to recipients who had not given the necessary consent and were therefore sent in breach of regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003).
The Information Commissioner found that although BT did not deliberately break the rules, it should have known the risks and it failed to take reasonable steps to prevent them.
- Diamond & Company (Scotland) Limited acquires S. Brooker & Associates
- LFB demands sprinklers in schools
- Building registration process begins at the Building Safety Regulator
- Kentec protects world’s longest sea-crossing
- The Security Institute announces new co-chairs for Counter-Terrorism Special Interest Group
- Fire Standards Board England website goes live
- Public consultation open for BS 8644-1 on fire safety information
- Mixed fire crewing models to be introduced in Nottingham
- Eventsafe Security owner sent to jail
- The Security Event 2019: Looking to the future of automatic facial recognition
- From the editor
- Blog for FSM website
- Information Commissioner makes key appointments
- BSIA forges closer American links ahead of Brexit
- Fire and Security Association names new chair
- Government wants mergers regime update to protect national security
- Chain wrestling
- Intersec 2018 preview
- Leading brands supporting new Security Event at NEC
- Leading security companies support launch of new security event at the NEC