Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA)

Summary of the initiative

Name
Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA)
Objective(s)
Meeting legislative requirements; Improving sector's image; Increasing clients' trust in the quality of the products/services; Raising industry standards; Using it as a marketing tool; Enhancing the level of information; Improving sector's image; Avoiding government regulation.
The Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995 (Article 27) provides that Member States and the Commission shall encourage the drawing up - at national and Community levels - of codes of conduct intended to contribute to the proper implementation of the Directive.
"Article 27 The Member States and the Commission shall encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct intended to contribute to the proper implementation of the national provisions adopted by the Member States pursuant to this Directive, taking account of the specific features of the various sectors.
Member States shall make provision for trade associations and other bodies representing other categories of controllers which have drawn up draft national codes or which have the intention of amending or extending existing national codes to be able to submit them to the opinion of the national authority.
Member States shall make provision for this authority to ascertain, among other things, whether the drafts submitted to it are in accordance with the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive. If it sees fit, the authority shall seek the views of data subjects or their representatives.
Draft Community codes, and amendments or extensions to existing Community codes, may be submitted to the Working Party referred to in Article 29. This Working Party shall determine, among other things, whether the drafts submitted to it are in accordance with the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive. If it sees fit, the authority shall seek the views of data subjects or their representatives. The Commission may ensure appropriate publicity for the codes which have been approved by the Working Party."
Seven years of negotiations between FEDMA and the Working Party (set in accordance with Article 29 of the Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995) finally led to the introduction of the Code. The code of practice adopted in 2003 represents an interpretation of the European Data Protection Directive in terms designed to be understood by direct marketers; in some areas of the Directive, where practice already goes beyond the level set by the Directive - or where FEDMA recommends that it should - such higher standards of practice are incorporated. The topics addressed in the code include: Obtaining personal data; Responsibilities of the data controller; Dealing with data subjects' requests; Preference services systems (suppression system); Transfer of data to non-EU countries.

Description of the Initiative

    Sector

    Sector

    Contact Point - Commission
    CONNECT H4 and JUST E2

    Self/Co-Regulation Basic Act

    LEGISLATIVE ACT
    Year
    1995
    Title of Act
    Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, Official Journal L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31-50.
    PRIVATE ACT
    Year
    2003
    Title of Act
    European code of practice for the use of Personal Data in Direct Marketing

    Geographical Coverage

    Participating Countries
    Austria

    Description

    Problems that lead to the introduction of Self/Co-Regulation and the adoption of the Founding Act
    Threat to the right to privacy posed by data processing technologies
    Target Group(s)
    Direct and Interactive Marketing Industry
    Type of Instrument(s)
    Code of practice
    Level(s) at which private rules should be defined and applied
    Type of Financing
    -
    Type of Monitoring
    Conduct an initial survey of compliance capacity of future regulateesConduct regular visits and spot checksInitiate complaints proceduresMaintain database of those bounded by the normsProduce regular reportsReceive complaints and verify if norms were breached or notReflexive dialogue with the - stakeholdersOther
    European Commissionyes
    National public authority
    International public authority
    Private regulator (code owner)yesyesyesyesyes
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)
    Self-appointed private parties (e.g. NGOs)
    Succinct description of the type of Monitoring
    The national Direct Marketing Associations are responsible for the strict application of the principles set up in this Code, as incorporated into their national codes, in their respective countries and should apply the same sanctions stipulated in their countries for the breaching of their national codes. Companies should regularly monitor their compliance to this code (for example, via self-audits). A "Data Protection Committee" is established within FEDMA to monitor the application of the FEDMA Code. The Data Protection Committee reports to the FEDMA Board. The Data Protection Committee is composed by the contact persons of the national DMAs as established in article 7. 2. 2; the nominee contact point within FEDMA; and three representatives from companies who should be members of the FEDMA Board. The functions of the Data Protection Committee are: to consider annually if a revision of the Code is necessary; to provide the Article 29 Working Party with an annual report on the functioning of the code at national level and in cross-border activities. The Directive sets up a "Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data". The Working Party shall draw up an annual report on the situation regarding the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data in the Community and in third countries, which it shall transmit to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council. The report shall be made public.
    Type of Enforcement
    Faming, shaming and blamingJudicial sanctionsMembership suspension/exclusionPrivate finesOther
    Private Regulator
    Private independent party with a mandate (e.g. auditors)yes
    Court system
    Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) / Online dispute resolution (ODR)
    Succinct description of the type of Enforcement
    Resolution of complaints
    7. 2. 1 National Direct Marketing Associations should establish a procedure to solve any complaints that may arise from the application of this Code at national level.
    7. 2. 2 National Direct Marketing Associations should nominate a person within the association responsible to handle the complaints and to act as the contact person for FEDMA. The name of this person should be communicated to the relevant Data Protection authority.
    7. 2. 3 If a national Direct Marketing Association is unable to solve a complaint from a Data Subject due to its cross-border aspects, it should refer the matter to FEDMA, which should nominate a person within the Federation responsible for the resolution of complaints.
    7. 2. 4 The national DMAs should co-operate as much as possible with their national data protection authorities.
    7. 2. 5 FEDMA will also co-operate with other relevant organisations and government bodies.
    Contravention of the principles
    7. 3. 1 Any contravention of this Code by FEDMA members would be brought to the FEDMA Data Protection Committee for consideration. The Data Protection Committee, taking due regard to the type of contravention, may decide to recommend to the FEDMA Board the expulsion of the member or other sanctions, according to its rules of procedure.
    7. 3. 2 FEDMA may consider the possibility of initiating action against a member or a non-member in order to safeguard the ethics of the profession.
    7. 3. 3 The non-compliance with the provisions of this Code may also result in specific legal actions from the national data protection supervisory authorities.
    As far as enforcement is concerned, the functions of the Data Protection Committee are: to solve cross-border complaints in co-operation with the IFDMA (International Federation of Direct Marketing Associations) and EASA (European Advertising Standards Alliance); to consider any contravention of the Code.

    Results of Commission Monitoring

    Link / Reference of Evaluation
    -

    Downloads

    SMO self- and co-regulation database - private code 57