We want to be clear with you about how we use your data, so in this section we talk about the general categories of personal data that we may process and, in the case of personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, we’ll tell you where we got your data and the purposes for which we may process your data; finally, and very importantly, we’ll explain the legal bases of the processing which applies to us and you.
The General Categories of Personal Data That We May Process:
In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
You have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
These terms and conditions apply between you, the User of this Website (including any sub-domains, unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions), and Prospect Global Ltd., the owner and operator of this Website. Please read these terms and conditions carefully, as they affect your legal rights. Your agreement to comply with and be bound by these terms and conditions is deemed to occur upon your first use of the Website. If you do not agree to be bound by these terms and conditions, you should stop using the Website immediately.
In these terms and conditions, User or Users means any third party that accesses the Website and is not either (i) employed by Prospect Global Ltd. and acting in the course of their employment or (ii) engaged as a consultant or otherwise providing services to Prospect Global Ltd. and accessing the Website in connection with the provision of such services.
You must be at least 18 years of age to use this Website. By using the Website and agreeing to these terms and conditions, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years of age.
Prospect Global Ltd. is a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 09648733 whose registered address is 33 Wrotham Road,, Borough Green,, Borough Green, Sevenoaks,, Kent, TN15 8DD and it operates the website https://sopro.io/ . The registered VAT number is GB234026052.
You can contact Prospect Global Ltd. by email on ryan@sopro.io.
This statement sets out the operating procedures Sopro undertakes to ensure GDPR best practice is observed to the greatest extent possible, at all times.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection, storage, and processing of personal information from individuals who live in the European Union (EU).
The Information Commissioner’s Office is the UK regulator dealing with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 across the UK.
The ICO are like the data protection police and we need to make sure we always keep on their good side. Our determination to be 100% GDPR and PECR compliance will do exactly that!
It is important to take GDPR compliance very seriously, since the penalties for non-compliance are punitive and designed to be painful. You definitely don’t want to be on the receiving end of an ICO investigation or enforcement notice!
In addition to appointing a compliance officer to oversee our adherence to the rules, Sopro have engaged 3rd party compliance expertise to audit and advise on best practice. This investment enables us to assure clients that GDPR best practices are strictly observed wherever possible, at all times.
To put this in the language of GDPR and the ICO:
Let’s look at this carefully. Sopro’s services are designed and offered solely to help businesses promote to other businesses. I.e. B2B marketing only. In which case PECR allows email marketing provided material is relevant and we and allow the recipient to opt-out of future emails. In this respect Sopro is naturally compliant. Now for GDPR, GDPR always applies and actually applies to all aspects of collection, storage, and processing of data. Sopro has been designed to be compliant and has established technical and operational systems to make sure this is the case. For example, before launching new client activity, Sopro conducts an in-depth assessment to establish if the product or service, combined with the proposed targeting, meets the criteria for GDPR and PECR compliant business to business (B2B) marketing. A key part of this assessment is called the Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA), we have completed a LIA for us and also a standard LIA for each of our clients. We have also created a standard Privacy Policy update for client use as needed, this includes all the relevant clauses you need plus references to Sopro to make everything clear to the data subject – just let us know if you need a copy of any of these.
If Sopro determines that your planned B2B prospecting activity does not meet the criteria for Legitimate Interests within the scope of GDPR or if your approach would breach some other part of the regulations [including PECR] then we cannot support the activity within any regions subject to GDPR.
In the context of our Services, Legitimate Interest is the relevant lawful basis for processing as defined in GDPR. GDPR sets out a number of permissible circumstances (or categories) under which Personally Identifiable Information (PII) can be stored and processed, the most appropriate category in the case of most B2B marketing is Legitimate Interests. This link explains the Legitimate Interests basis for storing and processing PII: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/lawful-basis-for-processing/legitimate-interests/ To ensure client activity falls into this category, prior to engaging, we will carry out a full Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA) with each new client. Essentially the LIA is a questionnaire containing a series of questions about your scenario. There are 3 areas that need to be satisfied for Legitimate Interests to be used as a basis for processing PII:
If Sopro determines that your planned B2B prospecting activity does not meet the criteria for Legitimate Interests within the scope of GDPR or if your approach would breach some other part of the regulations [including PECR] then we cannot support the activity within any regions subject to GDPR.
Whilst GDPR controls the storage and processing of personal data in the UK, sending messages is regulated under the Privacy and Electronic communications Regulations (PECR). This is very clear as to the requirements on business communication: “You can email or text any corporate body (a company, Scottish partnership, limited liability partnership or government body). However, it is good practice – and good business sense – to keep a ‘do not email or text’ list of any businesses that object or opt out and screen any new marketing lists against that.” https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-pecr/electronic-and-telephone-marketing/electronic-mail-marketing/
All Sopro employees undergo GDPR, PECR and general compliance training, this covers the GDPR rule set in detail, the relevance and impact of those rules on Sopro and our clients, and the steps we take to ensure best practice is observed at all times. We also make clear the consequences (I.e. penalties) associated with failure to meet the strict GDPR standards.
Whilst Sopro continues to take extensive measures to ensure best practice with respect to GDPR and PECR across all client activity, clients should take note that responsibility for compliance vests (in different forms) with each party. Sopro cannot be abreast of the constantly evolving regulatory frameworks in all countries at all times, as such it is important that you, as the client, have knowledge of your local regulatory climate and ensure your business operates within the relevant regulatory frameworks.
Sopro has worked hard to develop a compliant platform providing innovative marketing services and technology for our clients and at all times respecting the rights of the data subjects whose information we collect. Compliance is now part of what we do and ongoing due-diligence is just part of how we operate. Compliance is central to our identity as a business.
This statement sets out the operating procedures Sopro undertakes to ensure CAN-SPAM and CCPA best practice is observed to the greatest extent possible, at all times.
In place since 2003, the primary regulation governing B2B sales in the US is the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM). As email marketing started to gain momentum in the early noughties, this act was introduced to keep things in check. Read the rules of CAN-SPAM.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was introduced in 2020, and only applies if you’re sending sales emails to contacts within California. It gives Californians the right to know exactly what personal data companies are collecting about them.
Under the CCPA, Californians are able to access – and request the deletion of – any personal data that companies have collected on them.
The CCPA applies if you meet the following requirements:
Under CCPA, Californian recipients have the right to request:
In addition to appointing a compliance officer to oversee our adherence to the rules, Sopro has engaged 3rd party compliance expertise to audit and advise on best practice. This investment enables us to assure clients that CAN-SPAM and CCPA best practices are strictly observed wherever possible, at all times.
When it comes to CAN-SPAM and the CCPA, we’re joint controllers. Even though we’re working for you as a service provider, it’s important to recognise that we’re both responsible for: deciding who to target, what data to collect, and how that data is collected, processed, and stored.
We’ve also incorporated a comprehensive Data Sharing Agreement within Sopro’s standard Terms of Service - just to make everything easier. This agreement sets out how we work together as Joint Controllers and how we support each other if we ever receive a data request.
This decision is fundamental to how we operate, so please ask if you have any questions!
Of course! Compliance is built into everything we do at Sopro - our business wouldn’t be able to operate without it.
Sopro’s services are designed and offered solely to help businesses promote to other businesses (i.e. B2B marketing only). We ensure that the email marketing provided material is relevant and allow the recipient to opt out of future emails. Sopro has also established technical and operational systems to ensure all aspects of data collection, storage, and processing are compliant.
Before launching new client activity, we conduct an in-depth assessment to establish if the product or service, combined with the proposed targeting, meets the criteria for compliant business to business (B2B) marketing. A key part of this assessment is called the Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA). We also have a standard privacy policy update for clients to use as needed, which includes all the relevant clauses plus references to Sopro to make everything clear to the data subject. Just let us know if you need a copy of any of these.
Privacy Policy – All messages sent will contain a link to a privacy policy that explains to the user exactly what their rights are as well as the type of data that is held about them and by who. Sopro will provide a template privacy policy or review your existing one to ensure it meets the required standard. Here’s a link to our privacy policy: https://sopro.io/privacy-policy/. This standard privacy link would typically be contained in the email signature of any outbound messaging, in the case of messaging as part of client campaign activity, the privacy link will be that of our client’s own privacy policy.
Opting out and exclusion lists – All recipients are able to opt out easily to prevent further email communication being received. All replies to prospecting emails are logged and those prospects are added to your campaign exclusion list within 24 hours. Sopro allows import of existing exclusion lists in advance of campaign activity. Exclusions can be submitted in the form of individual email addresses or full domains and will prevent communications being issued to those email addresses or domains listed.
Subject access requests (SAR) – All individuals have the right to request a copy of all data you hold on them. To support this data subjects can email any SAR requests to dpo@sopro.io and we will return this data within 72 hours.
Right to be forgotten – All individuals have the right to have some or all of their data removed (to be ‘forgotten’) at any time. A conflict does arise in removing or forgetting an email address whilst at the same time keeping this address on an exclusion list to prevent future mailings. Where we have removed data, we will move the email address to a separate exclusion list, encrypted using a one-way hashing algorithm (SHA1), ensuring we are able to prevent any future messages being sent to the customer whilst continuing to honour their right to be forgotten.
All Sopro employees undergo both general and region-specific compliance training, this covers the CAN-SPAM and CCPA rule set in detail, the relevance and impact of those rules on Sopro and our clients, and the steps we take to ensure best practice is observed at all times. We also make clear the consequences (i.e. penalties) associated with failure to meet the strict standards.
Whilst Sopro continues to take extensive measures to ensure best practice with respect to CAN-SPAM and CCPA across all client activity, clients should take note that responsibility for compliance rests (in different forms) with each party. Sopro cannot be abreast of the constantly evolving regulatory frameworks in all countries at all times, as such it is important that you, as the client, have knowledge of your local regulatory climate and ensure your business operates within the relevant regulatory frameworks.
Sopro has worked hard to develop a compliant platform providing innovative marketing services and technology for our clients and at all times respecting the rights of the data subjects whose information we collect. Compliance is part of what we do and ongoing due diligence is core to how we operate.
Compliance can be an intimidating subject for any business. At Sopro, we’ve had to become experts, so you don’t have to worry. You can find a detailed FAQ below, but I wanted to highlight some of the key points first.
GDPR clarifies that processing personally identifiable data is fine on several grounds, including for marketing purposes, under legitimate interests.
Consent to send email is also not required for UK B2B marketing communications, which is legislated under the UK’s PECR B2B exemption. This is different for B2C companies, but that is not new.
The other GDPR compliance points are a bit more labour intensive to manage such as data storage, data security, additional policies and implementing Right to be Forgotten and Subject Access requests, as well as the usual unsubscribe lists.
We might not be solicitors (and I should clarify this post definitely doesn’t constitute legal advice), but you are in safe hands with Sopro. We are more than happy to jump on a call with your compliance team if useful.”
– Ryan Welmans