In an age when 84% think that all unsolicited commercial emails should be banned, it's surprising to find that a large proportion of UK companies are still not meeting legal requirements for sending email marketing messages.

Almost a third of the UK's leading companies are not obeying the EU Directive (PDF file) on Privacy and Electronic Communications, which became law in December 2003. That's according to new research from direct marketing agency CDMS. The breaches fall under the requirement that companies only send unsolicited sales messages through email to non-customers if they have actively opted in to receive them. The common practice of just offering the opportunity to opt out of of receiving such emails does not meet the terms of the Directive. Existing customers are likely to fall under the Directive's 'soft opt-in' clause which allows the sending of unsolicited mails under controlled circumstances.
Out of 200 companies across twelve consumer business sectors from banking to broadcasting, the survey discovered only 69% of the companies were compliant with the legislation. This represents a rise of merely 3% since a similar study conducted by the company in 2005.
Ian Hubbard of CDMS states that the 31% of companies failing to comply are putting themselves and their brands at considerable risk:

Companies who have not complied are putting their carefully built brands at risk, by putting out the message to consumers that they apparently don't care about legislation designed to protect their prospective customers' privacy. This effectively puts them in the category of junk emailers, and associating them with a rising tide of spam, and growing consumer concerns over the security of their personal records.

Harsh words, though it's likely that many of those failing to comply are not aware of the rules rather than deliberately flouting them. However, ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law, and even less so in the eyes of consumers making judgements about brands on the basis of how well they are treated. Hubbard concludes:

We would exhort those who have not yet paid full attention to this issue to do so with all speed, before enforcement test cases start to be launched, either by individuals or by the regulatory authorities, and before consumer lobby groups (and consumers themselves) blacklist them.

Elsewhere:
http://www.simonwakeman.com/2007/01/10/keeping-it-legal-with-email-marketing/