Invitations to respond to questionnaires/surveys are not “direct marketing” under the Ordinance
The Complaint
The Complainant was a student of a University. He kept on receiving emails from the University, inviting and reminding him to complete different surveys conducted by the University. He was of the view that such emails constituted “direct marketing” under the Ordinance and the University did not cease sending emails to him despite his “opt-out requests”, which breached the requirements under Part 6A of the Ordinance.
Outcome
Feedback given by a student to the University in response to the surveys is not a “donation or contribution” mentioned in section 35A of the Ordinance. The emails received by the Complainant therefore fall outside the definition of “direct marketing” under the Ordinance and the opt-out rights under the said provisions are not applicable to those surveys.
Nevertheless, Data Protection Principle 3 of the Ordinance governs the use of personal data in this case. Since the University collected the Complainant’s personal data during the student admission process and had informed the Complainant that his personal data would be used for the academic and administrative functions, the use of his personal data in sending the said emails to the Complainant was directly related to the original purpose of such collection. There was no prima facie contravention to Data Protection Principle 3 of the Ordinance found in this case.
(Uploaded in March 2019)