DPA case 3425/157/2019 – Complaint Upheld (Finland, 2020)

A data subject filed a complaint with the Finnish DPA regarding Acc Consulting company's direct marketing practices. Data subject received direct marketing communications to their work phone. The SMS had a number that the data subject should call to unsubscribe. The data subject tried calling, but no one answered. The controller claimed that they did not need prior consent from the recipient as the direct marketing communications was not directed towards a natural person, but rather a legal person under section 202 of the national Information Society Code (917/2014). DPA considered the following legal questions: 1) Has the controller sent out direct marketing communications? 2) If yes, was the marketing communication directed at a legal or a natural person? 3) Had the controller given the data subject the right to object to direct marketing as per Article 21 GDPR? DPA held that the controller had sent out direct marketing communications and that it was directed towards a natural person under section 200 subsection 1 of the national Information Society Code (917/2014), and thusly the controller would have needed the data subject's prior consent. The controller must give the data subject an opportunity to unsubscribe easily and without payment. The controller must correct its direct marketing communications practice and is obliged to notify the DPA of any changes. The decision is not final.