Sustaining Robinson lists: where to get more information

FEDMA supports the best practice of Robinson lists which help the flow of information while respecting individual’s choice. Robinson lists go hand in hand with opt-out regimes, which rely on legitime interest and thus facilitate fair competition and contestability of markets. This is in particular the case for telemarketing and direct mail.

FEDMA centralises information on Robinson lists which exist across the EU and which are all managed at national level, for example by national DMAs. You can access this information (what list exists, managed by whom) via our Legal Fact Pack which is free for FEDMA members. The Legal Fact Pack is virtual, in the member only section of the FEDMA website so as to enable you to have more easily access to updated content.  FEDMA calls on DMAs to share with us any updated information related to their national Robinson list (egirotto@fedma.org).

Implementation of Robinson lists can be tested at national level. This is currently the case in Belgium. Indeed, the Belgian General Directorate of Economic Inspection has recently launched a national inquiry into the direct marketing sector’s compliance with telemarketing rules, including the industry’s self-regulatory practice to register in an opt-out list those users who do not wish to receive marketing communications, so-called Robinson List or Do Not Call Me List. To find out more about the details of this Belgium inquiry, please reach out to FEDMA team who will connect you to the responsible persons. If you would like FEDMA to announce a similar inquiry in other countries, let us know and we will include this in our next newsletters under the ‘have your say’ section.

As underlined in our priorities 2019 – 2024, user’s trust is the foundation of any business-to consumer relationship. Making sure that Robinson lists remain an effective and efficient best practice will foster a thriving environment for marketers powered by user’s trust. To that end, Robinson lists remain a practice is at the core of FEDMA’s principles, namely, (i) to be honest and fair, (ii) respect individuals, (iii) be diligent with personal data, (iv) empower the customer, and (v) be accountable.