New E-mail Marketing Law – Decree-Law 46/2012 of 29 August.

The new Law applies to the processing of personal data in the context of providing publicly available electronic communications services on public communications networks, in particular public communications networks that support data collection and identification devices, specifying and complementing the provisions of Law no. 67/98 of 26 October (the Personal Data Protection Act).

Main changes

Law 46/2012, in force in Portugal since 29 August, regulates electronic communications and centres on three points that affect E-mail Marketing services:

1. Opt-in* for individuals is now mandatory. This means that electronic communications / E-mails may only be sent to individuals with the recipient's prior and express consent.
2. The sender must build its own “consent list”, which must include: the individuals who have authorised your company to send them e-mails, and your customers / organisations with which you have a commercial relationship and which have not objected to receiving e-mails sent by your company.
3. the individuals who have authorised your company to send them e-mails,
4. your customers / organisations with which you have a commercial relationship and which have not objected to receiving e-mails sent by your company.
5. With the introduction of the National Advertising Communications Opt-Out List, sending e-mails to companies or institutions now requires you to check that list to ensure that nothing is sent to the organisations on it. According to the Directorate-General for Consumer Affairs, this list is updated monthly.

For more detail, read the information available on our Customer Support Portal.