{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/privacy-and-electronic-communications-amendment-no-2-regulations-2018/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/privacy-and-electronic-communications-amendment-no-2-regulations-2018/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2018/1396",
  "legislation_title": "The Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/privacy-and-electronic-communications-amendment-no-2-regulations-2018",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2426) (the “2003 Regulations”) so as to prohibit direct marketing in relation to occupational or personal pension schemes (“pensions cold calling”).\nRegulation 2(2) of these Regulations amends regulation 21 of the 2003 Regulations, which establishes an opt-out regime for cold calling, so as to disapply it from pensions cold calling.\nRegulation 2(3) inserts a new regulation 21B into the 2003 Regulations. Paragraphs (1) to (3) of new regulation 21B prohibit pensions cold calling except where the caller is a trustee or manager of a pension scheme or a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and—\nthe recipient of the call has consented to receiving calls from the organisation making the call; or\nthe recipient of the call is an existing customer of the organisation making the call, expects to receive pensions cold calls from that organisation and has been given the opportunity to refuse to provide contact details for the purpose of receiving such calls.\nParagraph (5)(b) defines pensions cold calling.\nAn organisation that breaches the prohibition on pensions cold calling may be liable to pay compensation to the victim and may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) under the Data Protection Act 1998. The ICO’s enforcement powers include serving an enforcement notice and issuing a monetary penalty notice. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence.\nA full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument, as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. A de minimis impact assessment is available from HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ and is published alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1396/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T22:49:55.877623+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}