GDPR and Press Releases. Is Journalists' Consent Required?

photo: InfoWire.pl

When it comes to sending press releases, "two legal grounds apply: consent and the legitimate interest of the data controller. One might wonder which is safer."

Consent and Data Processing Agreement

- For now, I believe that consent is the safer option, says Michał Sztąberek, President of iSecure, in an interview with infoWire.pl. - Press releases are often classified as commercial information sent electronically, and the Law on Electronic Services requires consent in such cases.


What if we send a request for permission to send press releases but receive no response? Unfortunately, in this situation, silence means no consent.

If journalists` publicly available data, such as emails seen in a byline under an article, are used, can we send an email that fulfills the data processing information obligation?

- This is publicly available information, meaning it was provided by the person themselves, so we can use it to contact that journalist. But we must remember that if we send a marketing message electronically, we still need to obtain their consent and fulfill the information obligation, explains Dr. Maciej Kawecki, coordinator of the data protection reform, Director of the Data Management Department at the Ministry of Digitization in an interview with InfoWire.pl. - But we also shouldn’t go to extremes. If someone publishes their email address under an article, it means they expect contact. So, if we want to ask a question specifically related to that article, there’s no issue using that email address.

However, if the article is about a new phone model, and we work for a manufacturer who also makes phones and want to send information about a similar model, Dr. Kawecki believes this qualifies as marketing information. If sent electronically, we must first request consent before using that email for marketing purposes.

Journalists Unlikely to Subscribe to Newsletters

After May 25, will some companies stop emailing journalists if they don’t have documented consent for such communication? Could this lead to an increase in journalists subscribing to newsletters from press services or news agencies?


- I don’t think journalists will be more willing to subscribe to newsletters. Maybe a little more. I’m not saying there will be no interest at all, but it won’t be significant because those who want to subscribe to newsletters have already done so, says Piotr Wardziak, author of the blog GospodarkaPoProstu.pl, in an interview with InfoWire.pl. - I don’t think they’ll suddenly want to "sign up" for new newsletters unless they notice a clear lack of correspondence on a subject they’re interested in, like finance, banking, or personal finance. If they find they’re receiving fewer updates in a particular field and remember that certain companies provided valuable information, they may order that company’s newsletter.

According to Piotr Wardziak, the opposite is more likely. Companies will approach journalists saying, "We used to send emails; now we’ll send newsletters, please subscribe." Journalists expect proactive communication from companies; they won’t actively seek newsletters to subscribe to.

PR Agencies and GDPR

Sometimes, a company has its own journalist database, which it decides to share with a PR agency to send press releases. In such cases, it’s best for the data controller (company) to sign a data processing agreement with the processor (agency).



If there are any violations in data processing by the agency, its legal responsibility toward the client would be based on GDPR provisions, the company’s instructions, and the terms of the data processing agreement.

Will GDPR require amendments to contracts with PR agencies? Paweł Soproniuk, a partner at PR agency Neuron, told InfoWire.pl he expects the process of adapting client contracts with public relations agencies to GDPR to be unavoidable.

- Everyone is preparing for this. These are very extensive processes. We work for large companies, so GDPR issues usually affect not only communication departments but many others, like marketing, especially direct marketing, explains Soproniuk. - Work on this is ongoing.