What is ‘legitimate interest’?

In our latest article in the series about GDPR we take a closer look at ‘legitimate interest’. What does it stand for and what might it entail for your business? Paloma’s CEO, Peter Berg, helps us clarify the concept.

Why has the issue of ‘legitimate interest’ arisen in connection with the new data protection regulation GDPR that enters into force on May 25 this year?

Answer: I think the issue has emerged because PUL, the Personal Data Act, the law that GDPR is replacing this spring, and the Marketing Act, MFL, raise specific situations and areas where saving data without consent is allowed.

Can you give some examples of such situations?

Answer: For example, in certain cases concerning direct marketing. According to PUL, your personal data may be processed without consent if it is clearly stated that the data controller’s legitimate interest outweighs the data subject’s interest in privacy protection.

What does the Marketing Act say about how we are allowed to use direct marketing without consent?

Answer: This is what MFL says about direct marketing, in a general sense:

‘A trader may, in their marketing to a physical person, only use electronic mail, telefax or such automatic calling machines, or other similar automated systems for individual communication that is not served by an individual, if the physical person has consented to this in advance.’

But the requirement for consent does not apply if:

  1. the data subject has not actively opposed mailings and e-mail marketing from you and your company;
  2. the marketing relates to the trader’s own, similar products or
  3. the physical person is clearly given the opportunity to, free of charge and in a straightforward manner, oppose the use of the data for marketing purposes when it is collected and with each subsequent marketing announcement. 

How does GDPR’s ‘legitimate interest’ compare to PUL’s balance of interests and MFL?

Answer: In PUL and MFL, balance of interests means that you may save personal data without consent when marketing specific products – if a particular interest to the recipient exists!

In principle, the same balance applies with GDPR and after May this year it will still be possible to process personal data without consent. But it must be assessed on a case-to-case basis, and after considering the balance of interests. Direct marketing may be such a legitimate interest.

Are there any differences between PUL’s balance of interests and GDPR’s legitimate interest?

Answer: Yes, of course! GDPR places significantly higher demands on personal data protection. For instance, when it comes to saving personal data that belongs to children. The processing of personal data is only legal if it is absolutely necessary for your company or organisation to save the data, and if the data subject’s interests, rights and freedoms do not carry more weight and require special protection, such as when the data subject is a child.

What does the Swedish Data Protection Authority say about the difference between PUL and GDPR regarding balance of interests and legitimate interest?

Answer: The Data Protection Authority still refers to a brochure on balance of interests under PUL. Information about balance of interests according to PUL can be found here.

CREATE AN ACCOUNT

Get our smart tips on digital marketing. The newsletter will be published with about 10 numbers a year and of course we will not leave your address to anyone. Much pleasure!

Lämna följande fält tomt
READ MORE

Best software for newsletters & email marketing

The best software for newsletters is easy to use to create attractive design newsletters. Postman newsletter software serves you with smart features, enabling you to take your email marketing to the next level. 

The newsletter is a perfect channel for establishing and maintaining solid customer relations. As a result of the fact that customers of both today and tomorrow are living their lives online email marketing and newsletters is an essential key as well as an amazing opportunity to succeed with your communication. In a number of enquiries email marketing has turned out to have the best ROI (Return On Investment) of all channels, including social media.  

Using newsletter software doesn’t have to be tricky or hard. We have worked hard with usability and interface to make sure that our software for newsletters is as intuitive and easy as possible to get familiar with. 

You can create stylish newsletters without effort using our drag and drop editor. Heaps of automated features will save you time and frustration in the process of producing and sending your newsletter. 

If you are arranging an event you can connect to Magnet by Paloma – our software for guest registrations och online ticket sales. You are also able to retrieve immediate feedback by applying quick question in your email. 

If you have different departments or multiple editors working on your newsletters you can use editor accounts, with different access levels. RSS feed is another time saving feature for your newsletter. Allow content to be automatically generated from another source and avoid duplicating your efforts!

Free templates and plenty of tips & tricks 

Keep your communication consistent and solid using a newsletter template. Templates are also in favor of the continuous work with your newsletter as you will be fast on track instead of creating layout from scratch for every dispatch. You will have good looking ready made templates at hand for instant use. You will also have access to an archive to store your templates as well as other files such as images and documents. 

On our site, blog and in our newsletter you can find plenty of tips on digital newsletters and email marketing. 

Create & send newsletters in no time

Our easy to use software for newsletters will help you create professional, creative and interesting newsletters in html. 

✔️ Design, send and monitor with statistics

✔️ Filter, segment och target content at the right target audience

✔️ Retrieve content from another source automatically through RSS, avoid duplicating efforts 

✔️ Implement marketing automation with trigger email.

✔️ Intuitive and sharp drag and drop editor

✔️ Easy contact management

✔️ Smart feedback

✔️ Multiple editors.

Try Postman software for marketing newsletters & email

If you are looking to develop your business marketing newsletters and email Postman is a your perfect match. 

✔️ 9 out of 10 of our users recommend us and we have got 

✔️ 97% support contentment.

✔️ 100% of our employees recommend Paloma as a workplace.