I imagine that most of us have at least once saved a number in our phone with the name "Spam" or blocked the number altogether to tackle the onslaught of calls from people trying to sell us something.
I also imagine that you, as an entrepreneur, don't want your company to have the reputation of being one of "those" companies.
However, as we will see in this article, although Advertising Exclusion Lists (such as the new Stop Advertising List and the famous Robinson List) exist to reduce the number of "those" companies, the best way to respect the privacy of your contacts and data protection regulations and avoid sanctions for unwanted advertising is to only send marketing communications to customers and those who have given their explicit consent.
Paralegal
The Stop Advertising List, like the famous Robinson List, is a voluntary advertising opt-out system that allows individuals to sign up for free to avoid receiving unwanted commercial communications, and it was launched on the 31st of January 2025. Once 30 days have elapsed since registration, companies are prohibited from sending advertising to registrants via telephone, SMS, e-mail or other means. This mechanism offers users control over the commercial communications they receive, contributing to the protection of their privacy and compliance with current data protection regulations.
Those who intend to carry out direct marketing communications must first consult the advertising exclusion systems that may affect their actions, excluding from the processing the data of those affected who have expressed their opposition or refusal to it. To consult the Stop Advertising List, companies must register on the official platform and contract the corresponding service. Once they have signed up, they can access the web application provided by the Spanish Association for Digital Privacy, where they will compare their marketing lists with the Stop Advertising List. This online comparison process identifies matches, allowing companies to exclude from their campaigns those subscribers who do not wish to receive marketing communications. The Stop Advertising List is not downloaded; instead, companies upload their own files to perform the comparison and obtain the relevant results.
No, even if a person has signed up to one of these lists, you can still send them marketing communications (such as newsletters), if they are a client of yours and the communication relates to products or services of yours that are similar to those they have previously purchased, or if they have given you their consent to receive advertising from your company. However, of course, if they exercises their right to object to the processing of their data for this purpose, you must respect that.
Does your business activity revolve around marketing? You may be required to hire a data protection officer:
These days, electronic communications (emails, Whatsapps, etc.) and phone calls make up a large percentage of marketing communications, and the circumstances under which these communications can be carried out are already regulated by law. So, if you follow these rules, you should know already that you are only communicating with people that you are allowed to, before you even consult the Lists. Let's take a look at the law:
This means that if you have been granted consent to send marketing emails/messages/etc. or if you have lawfully obtained your customer's contact details and are contacting them regarding services/products related to those they already contracted, then you're acting within the law.
Again, you already shouldn't be making marketing phone calls unless you have the contact's consent to do so or you can otherwise legitimise it, and the AEPD has stated that you can legitimise it if:
At the beginning of each call you must inform the contact of the identity of the company or person on whose behalf you are calling, indicate the commercial purpose of the call and the possibility of revoking consent or exercising the right to object. Calls should be recorded as a means of demonstrating compliance with personal data protection regulations.
Bear in mind that if you want to communicate with the contacts of another member of your corporate group for marketing purposes, that member must first obtain consent from their contact in order to share their contact details with you for that purpose. Consent given to one member of a corporate group does not equal consent to all.
The recent launch of the Lista Stop Publicidad serves as an important reminder to companies of their responsibilities to protect the privacy and personal data of their contacts when conducting marketing campaigns. Although those who intend to send direct marketing communications must first consult the advertising exclusion systems published on the AEPD website, the AEPD also notes, in its advice to individuals that "even if you have signed up for these opt-out lists, marketers may still send you advertising for their products or services if you are a customer or if you have given them your consent." Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you follow the above rules regarding the recipients and content of your communications.
If you need advice on how to comply with data protection regulations in your marketing campaigns, at CONESA LEGAL we are here to help you. Contact us and we will ensure that your company confidently operates within the legal framework.