Full guidance on how to comply with the new regulations can be found at the Information Commissioner's Office website. For the purposes of B2B marketing data which you've bought from third parties such as Thinking Data, the following rules apply:

 

Postal mailings continue to be an opt-out channel. You need to give recipients the opportunity to opt out of future mailings.Telemarketing communications are also an opt-out channel.

 

Telephone numbers must be screened against the Telephone Preference Service and Corporate Telephone Preference Service files prior to use, and subsequently every 28 days. All data supplied by Thinking Data Limited is screened immediately prior to supply.

 

Business-to-business email communications fall into two categories as follows:

 

• Emails to the employees of corporate entities – limited companies, public limited companies, limited liability partnerships and government departments (including schools and hospitals) can be emailed without consent. Individuals must be given a clear and easy means of opting-out from future communications.

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• Emails to sole traders and traditional partnerships are treated in the same way as consumer data, and opt-in consent must be gained for these contacts.

 

Note that in the light of the final point above, Thinking Data Limited only provides emails for corporate bodies.