Is it necessary to provide information on the source of commercial prospecting data?

Providing information about the data source is an important issue when you're doing or planning to do commercial prospecting.

The GDPR requires that you inform people about the source of the data if you do commercial prospecting. You can prospect directly or indirectly.

If you carry out direct commercial prospecting, as is often the case in B2B, i.e. if you have collected the prospect's prior consent yourself, you don't need to inform us of the source of the commercial prospecting data.

On the other hand, if you carry out commercial prospecting indirectly, in other words, if you have obtained a prospect's data indirectly :

• E-mail generation tool
• Purchasing databases
• We provide you with a database...

You are obliged to inform the sources of commercial prospecting data, and you must do so for each prospecting message.

For example:

We have obtained your contact details

i) directly by you

ii) through public informatione.g trade shows and websites)

iii) via social networks (e.g Linkedin) or even

iv) via tools authorized by the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties)e.g Drop contact), in accordance with the provisions of article L34-5 of the CPCE and the directives of the CNIL CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties).