Solarwave Limited – €117,000 Fine (United Kingdom, 2021)

The UK DPA, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), examined the monthly reports received from the Telephone Preference Service Ltd (TPS), which described complaints about Solarwave Limited’s unsolicited marketing calls. Between 2 January 2020 and 2 October 2020, Solarwave Limited made 73,217 unsolicited direct marketing calls, and 30 complaints were submitted in relation to those calls. The calls were made to subscribers who had registered with the TPS and who had not given their prior consent to receive calls. ICO examined whether Solarwave Limited contravened regulation 21 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR), according to which a company can make direct marketing calls to individuals who are registered with the TPS (for not less than 28 days) only if those individuals consented to receiving such calls. Further, ICO examined whether the conditions under section 55A Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) for the imposition of a monetary penalty are met. ICO confirmed that Solarwave Limited contravened regulation 21 of PECR, by making unsolicited direct marketing calls to subscribers who had registered with the TPS at least 28 days prior to receiving the calls, and who had not given their prior consent to Solarwave to receive calls. ICO also found that the conditions under section 55A DPA for the imposition of a monetary penalty were met. First, if found that the contravention was serious due to (among other) a substantial number (73,217) of unsolicited calls over a nine-month period, for which Solarwave Limited could not demonstrate that it held valid consent. Valid consent was defined by reference to the concept of consent in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Second, ICO found that Solarwave Limited acted negligently. It stated that companies have at their disposal detailed guidelines on carrying out marketing and on consent under the GDPR, which is why Solarwave Limited knew or ought reasonably to have known that the