You may remember our blog back in October reporting on the issue of the rise in mobile spamming. Yesterday the The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued the first monetary penalties under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Fines totalling £440,000 were issued to the two owners of Tetrus Telecoms, a marketing company who were found to have sent millions of unlawful spam texts over the past three years.
The ICO became aware of Tetrus Telecoms after receiving intelligence in May 2011 that the company was sending huge volumes of unsolicited text messages, without the consent of the recipient and without identifying the sender – both of which are legal requirements under the PECR.
The individuals are also facing prosecution from the ICO for failing to notify that Tetrus Telecoms was processing personal information. Notification is a legal requirement for organisations under the Data Protection Act. Failure to notify is punishable by a penalty up to £5,000 in the Magistrates Court, and a potentially unlimited fine in the Crown Court.
The ICO is also currently considering issuing penalties to three other companies believed to be acting in breach of the regulations as the office continues its crackdown on the illegal marketing industry.
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