Direct Marketing to Consumers: Legal Mandates to Mitigate Criminal and Administrative Penalties
Introduction
The majority of e-commerce stores and companies tend to use customer contact information as an advertising medium to send offers, newsletters, or even to directly message the customer to persuade them to make a purchase. Before you use the information you have collected from a customer to bring them back to your business, learn about the terms of using their personal data as outlined in the Personal Data Protection Law, whose amendments and executive regulations came into effect on September 14, 2023.
History
Apr 2026
The sector
Data Communications
First, personal data is any data that would lead to specifically identifying an individual, or makes their identification possible directly or indirectly, such as a name, ID number, address, contact numbers, bank accounts, and other data of a personal nature. Every entity dealing with personal data must have a clear and regulated privacy policy. This privacy policy should include the purpose of collection, the content of personal data required to be collected, the method of collection, the means of storage, how it is processed, how it is disposed of, the rights of the owner regarding this data, and how to practice them. When collecting personal data, or using it in any form of processing, such as storage, indexing, merging, publishing, or data sharing, it is required to obtain explicit consent from its owner, with the obligation to provide a means to withdraw consent at any stage before, during, or after processing. This mechanism must be clarified to the data owner and be as easy as or easier than the consent process. There must also be a commitment to collecting the minimum amount of data required to achieve the purpose, so no data is requested that is not closely and directly related to the purpose of collecting the data. In all cases, entities must commit to taking organizational, administrative, and technical measures to ensure the security of personal data and maintain the privacy of its owners by complying with the controls and standards issued by the National Cybersecurity Authority, and reporting any breach of personal data within (72) hours of becoming aware of it.
Finally, all direct marketing transmissions must visibly identify the transmitting entity. Outbound messages must incorporate a granular opt-out infrastructure allowing immediate suppression of future marketing communications. Given the substantial statutory fines tied to compliance failure, corporations should draft binding internal policies ensuring strict adherence to data privacy protocols.