Expanded "Soft Opt-In" Exemption for Charity Fundraising
A major change in the bill would extend the "soft opt-in" exemption—previously only available to commercial organisations—to charities. This would allow charities to send fundraising emails and texts to supporters without explicit consent, provided:
- The charity obtained the individual's contact details when the individual previously showed an interest in or supported the charity’s purpose.
- The purpose of the marketing is strictly to further the charity’s mission.
- Supporters have clear and simple ways to opt out at the time their contact details were provided and at the time of each communication from the charity.
While this could streamline outreach efforts, charities must tread carefully:
- Charities adopting the soft opt-in exemption will be relying on "legitimate interests" as the lawful basis under data protection law for processing data - this means completing a Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) to ensure this basis can be applied.
- Opt-out options must be accessible at all times.
- Unsubscribe lists must continue to maintained and checked regularly.
Adopting soft opt-in will require updates to privacy notices/policies and records of processing activities, the completion of LIAs and changes to Central Relationship Management systems to distinguish between consent-based and legitimate-interest communications.
Stronger Enforcement Powers for the ICO
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will gain new and enhanced powers if the Bill is made law:
- The ability to compel interviews in investigations.
- Expanded powers to demand information and reports.
- Higher fines, up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual turnover, for violations of direct marketing laws (to align with UK GDPR).
- Legal notices can be served electronically without prior consent.
With the ICO actively cracking down on non-compliant marketing practices, charities must stay vigilant in aligning their fundraising activities with legal requirements.
New Complaints Obligations
If the Bill proceeds, charities will face more structured data-related complaint handling, including:
- Ensuring data subjects can easily submit complaints.
- Acknowledging complaints within 30 days.
- Reporting complaint volumes to the ICO.
To comply, charities should revise their procedures for handling complaints to include data-related matters.
Key Takeaway
The DUA Bill could make charity marketing and fundraising more effective, but it also raises compliance challenges. Charities must prepare for the changes, ensuring they meet legal standards while preserving public trust.
The DUA Bill is not yet passed as law, but charities should be live to these potential upcoming changes and what it may mean for their existing processes and procedures. If you have any questions please contact Melissa Hall, Senior Associate who is a data protection lawyer in our Charities and Third Sector team.
This article was co-written by Erin Thomson, Trainee Solicitor in our Charities and Third Sector team.
