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New privacy laws could mean opt-outs in all direct marketing and $1.1m fines for rule breakers

jodie sangster

ADMA CEO Jodie Sangster

How marketers use data to target new and existing customers is to get tougher if new laws are passed, industry body ADMA has claimed.

Among the new rules would be mandatory opt-outs in all direct marketing – including social media – and heavy fines of $1.1m for those who flout the rules, the marketing body says.

But the Senate has recommended that a proposal to ban direct marketing altogether be dropped, as well as the need to deal with customers anonymously or enabling them to use a pseudonym.

The report will form the basis of a debate in the Senate, which could be as soon as October 9. But this could be delayed if the government considers the recommendations and re-drafts the law.

Jodie Sangster, CEO of the Association for Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising, said: “This law will have significant implications on how organisations can use personal information for marketing purposes in the future, placing restrictions on the ability for companies to engage customers through channels such as online, mobile and social media.”

A statement from ADMA warned that the proposed law would force Australian businesses to revert back to mass communication and make it harder to tailor marketing to the individual.

It would also mean that consumers would receive an increased amount of irrelevant marketing. “Such provisions would also significantly hinder developments in Big Data, which play a key role in the future of the digital economy,” ADMA suggested.

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