Madrid (EFE).- Commercial calls that have not been requested have their hours counted, and as of tomorrow they should only be received by users who have previously given their consent.
The Official State Gazette publishes today a circular from the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) that clarifies the right of users not to receive this type of commercial calls and the criteria with which this body will act in application of the General Telecommunications Law, which has incorporated substantial changes to be able to make this type of calls.
Specifically, the article that includes the right of users not to receive calls for commercial purposes when they have not been requested will be applicable from tomorrow, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection has reported, and has clarified that they can only be made if there is consent of the user himself to receive this type of communication.
Given the doubts raised by the interpretation of that article, the Agency’s circular “clarifies the criteria, offering legal certainty both to those who make commercial calls and to the users who receive them”, has asserted the body that ensures the adequate Protection of personal data in Spain.
The circular gives continuity to the report that the Agency published in May, and has been published today after having submitted to the public information and hearing process in which the Agency has obtained the opinion of the interested parties and listened to the main associations and organizations representing those affected, and has also obtained the favorable opinion of the Council of State.
Users will only receive previously consented commercial calls
Until the entry into force of these changes, users could receive these commercial calls if they had not objected to them, but as of tomorrow they will only be able to receive them if they have previously given their consent or if the calling company can justify that its legitimate interest in making the call prevails over the right of users not to receive them and they have not exercised their right of opposition.
The AEPD has stressed in the circular that the interpretation of “legitimate interest” must be carried out strictly, preventing those who make the calls from being able to make an interpretation in such broad terms that they would be contrary to the intended purpose of the standard.
And for the company to justify its legitimate interest, the user must have had a previous relationship with it, having purchased its products or services and, in addition, the products offered by the company must be similar to those that had previously been contracted.
This possibility only refers to calls from the same company with which the relationship had been established and not to other entities, even if they belong to the same business group.
In addition, if the contractual relationship is no longer in force and the user has not made any other request or interaction with the company during the last year, they will not be able to call you.
As for calls made to randomly generated numbers, commercial calls can only be made with the prior consent of the user, and the company cannot make them based on that “legitimate interest”, since in this case, the AEPD has underlined , does not prevail over the rights of users.