Watchdog takes aim at 'text pest' delivery drivers preying on customers

People who use the phone numbers of customers to ask them out or proposition them are breaking the law, the information watchdog has warned as it vowed to crack down on “text pests”.

Research from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that around one in three 18 to 34-year-olds say they had been victims of the practice.

When customers give their phone number, email address or other contact details to a business, they have a right to expect it not to be used for non-business purposes.

The research for the ICO by Savanta, which polled 2,289 UK adults between July 28-31, found that two thirds of people think the use of personal information to make romantic or sexual propositions is morally wrong, while only 5% think it is morally right.

However, only 56% of people think it is illegal, compared with 9% who think it is legal.

“People have the right to order a pizza, or give their email for a receipt, or have shopping delivered, without then being asked for sex or a date a little while later,” said Emily Keaney, a deputy commissioner at the ICO.

“They have a right to know that when they hand over their personal information, that it will not then be used in ways that they would not be comfortable with.

“But our research today shows a disturbingly high number of people, particularly young people, are falling prey to these text pests.

“There may be, amongst some, an outdated notion that to use someone’s personal details given to you in a business context to ask them out is romantic or charming. Put quite simply, it is not – it is against the law.”

The ICO is now urging victims to come forward to allow it to get a better idea of how widespread the practice is and what impact it has on victims.

It will also be getting in touch with some of the UK’s biggest customer-facing employers to make sure they understand their responsibilities and to learn about their safeguards.

“If you are running a customer-facing business, you have a responsibility to protect the data of your customers, including from your employees misusing it,” Ms Keaney said.

“We are writing to major businesses, including in food and parcel delivery, to remind them that there are no excuses, and there can be no looking the other way.

“We’ve launched this call for evidence today because we want to hear directly from the public how this misuse of personal information has affected them. As the data regulator, we can then use this to inform our work protecting the public.”

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