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I thought in the EU you're legally required to do opt-in. You're not permitted to do opt-out.

How can the UK Post Office do opt-out?

Is this some UK exemption from the EU law?

Or is it the typical government exemption from its own law (like e.g. how politicians exempted themselves from the US CAN-SPAM law)?




Third party must be opt-in, but first party can be opt-out, that's why they do the alternate "opt-out opt-in" thing.

In fact a lot of companies I've come across do it this way, you see it on physical forms too.


Depends on the country, I think it is up to all member states to implement and manage the laws internally.

My former employer did the following "trick" to boost the amount of newsletter subscriptions (and angry customers):

In Denmark you are allowed to create a competition where you write "By participating in this competition you will be subscribed to our newsletter".

And then they write in the legal text under the form that you agree to them (and their mother-company) contacting you on phone, email and SMS.

And you also agree that two separate companies owned by the same company is allowed to contact you.

You are also allowed to leave the following checkbox checked as default, making it opt-out:

[x] Subscribe me to the newsletter.


Speaking of Europe, lately I've been using iOS on my native tongue and the translation is "Limitar seguimiento..." I don't know what's behind that ellipsis, but the direct translation of what I see would be "Limit tracking", without double negative.


Why, it is opt-in.

Just so confusing and misleading that a lot of people will opt-in by mistake.

The directive does not say that you must find a literal opt-in button on a web site.




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