Islamic aid charity the Penny Appeal has been ordered to stop sending marketing communications without consent within 30 days after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found it had sent more than 460,000 unsolicited marketing texts to 52,000 people.
The charity had previously been warned about data privacy compliance breaches in 2020.
Sent over ten days between April and May 2022 as part of a Ramadan appeal, the texts were sent to individuals who had never provided consent or who had previously opted out of marketing communications.
As part of its investigation into Penny Appeal’s contravention, the regulator has warned charities that despite their special operational status, they are not exempt from legal obligations protecting individual’s data privacy.
Penny Appeal’s actions resulted in the ICO and the Mobile UK’s Spam Reporting Service receiving 354 complaints, with frustrated individuals claiming that their opt-out requests were ignored by the charity, adding that the ‘intrusive’ texts were often sent late at night.
ICO head of investigations, Andy Curry said: “Penny Appeal inundated people with text messages, with no regard for their consent or their right to opt out. This is unacceptable and we will act decisively to protect the public from unsolicited marketing texts. ”
Despite providing advice and guidance to improve this charity’s compliance we were left with no choice but to take enforcement action in order to protect the public,” he added.
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“We are here to support charities in their missions to responsibly raise funds for good causes and help people in need. We also appreciate that small charities may need a helping hand when it comes to understanding the law. However, this is not an excuse for breaking it. All organisations sending direct marketing messages are responsible for ensuring they have valid consent to contact every recipient.”
In blatant disregard of UK data privacy laws, the ICO found that Penny Appeal had created a new database where requests to opt out were not recorded, with messages being automatically sent to anyone who engaged with the charity in the previous five years.
Although the charity had pledged to abide by the rules following a previous warning by the ICO in 2020, Penny Appeal was found to have continually breached data privacy regulations – and has now been served with an enforcement notice, ordering it to stop sending marketing communications without consent within 30 days.
Fundraising Regulator CEO, Gerald Oppenheim added: “The Fundraising Regulator supports the ICO’s decision which echoes an investigation into the same issue that the Fundraising Regulator completed in 2022.
“While communicating with donors via text can be an effective tool for charities, it is vital that those charities abide by not only the law, but also the Code of Fundraising Practice – which stipulates that fundraising must be open, honest, legal, and respectful.”
