Company addresses for your B2B success

Yes, pursuant to Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the processing of company data and any personal data of contact persons is lawful if “processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data …”.
In addition, Recital 47 of the GDPR expressly mentions the purposes of direct marketing as a legitimate interest.
If company addresses are used, additional data protection guidelines must be observed. This includes, for example, the obligation to inform data subjects and to give them the right to object to the processing of their data for direct marketing purposes.

In order to inform data subjects about the processing of their data and their rights, in particular the right to object, beDirect follows the recommendation of the German Dialog Marketing Association (DDV).

We recommend that advertisers use a footer text in mailings or in telemarketing:

• the responsible body,
• the right to object and
• Further data protection information

to the homepage of beDirect.

We will be happy to provide you with a corresponding draft text when you purchase company addresses.

The implementation of telemarketing in the B2B sector is generally permitted, but requires some points to be considered:

Observance of §7 UWG
Contacting companies by telephone is permitted if a presumed interest can be assumed. This is usually the case when industry- or profession-specific services are offered.

Observance of §7a UWG
The consumer’s express consent must be documented and retained for five years. This proof must be available at all times, in particular at the request of the competent authorities. Consent can be

• through system records,
• written confirmations or
• digital consents.

Duty to inform and right to object
The called party must be informed of their data protection rights, including their right to object. This can be done during the phone call, for example.

No advertising without express consent – that is the principle. According to §7 Abs. 2 sentence 1 UWG, advertising via e-mail is only permitted with prior consent. The burden of proof lies with the advertiser.
A single opt-in (mere registration of the e-mail address on the sender’s homepage) is not sufficient. In practice, the confirmation of the consenting person by means of the so-called double opt-in procedure has therefore become established. After registration, the consenting person receives a confirmation e-mail in which they confirm their consent by clicking on a link.