Within the last few days, the Data (Use and Access) Bill has completed its stages through Parliament and is ready for Royal Assent at a date to be confirmed. This means that the charity soft opt-in will become law, perhaps before the summer recess.
So what happens next?
Well, as we have mentioned here and in our webinars, the ICO needs to issue some guidance on two items in particular:
- Will the changes be retrospective – this impacts on how our CRM’s and fundraising databases need to record lawful basis
- Are details obtained from a third party included – the current ‘commercial’ soft opt requires that details are collected from the person themselves, but many charities use third-party fundraising platforms and event platforms.
Last Friday we contacted the ICO via their LiveChat to find out if they had a timeline for releasing this guidance. They said that even once the Bill gets royal assent and becomes law, the changes won’t come into force straight away. They suggested that it will take time before the new law comes into force, and the ICO’s policy positions and guidance have been finalised.
We stressed that charities need to start make decisions now and they accepted that, but could offer nothing further.
Let’s hope they step up and get some information out soon. Meanwhile, there are decisions that you should consider making, so get in touch to talk more about that.