Security News > 2021 > December > Virgin Media fined £50,000 after spamming 451,000 who didn't want marketing emails
British telco Virgin Media is facing a £50k financial penalty after spamming more than 400,000 opted-out customers urging them to sign back up to receive marketing bumf.
In a message disguised as a routine communication about tariff prices, Virgin told the unfortunate 451,217 recipients it knew full well they'd opted out of marketing emails but wanted them to opt back in.
When the ICO asked Virgin why it did this thing, the telco said the 451,000 recipients had opted out of being spammed more than a year ago, and therefore "Might have changed their marketing preferences."
Customers decided to opt back into receiving marketing emails as a result of the mailshot, the ICO said this wasn't enough to ignore regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.
We have asked Virgin Media for comment and will update this article if we hear back from the firm.
The ICO offered Virgin a £10k discount on the fine if it pays up by 9 January 2022, adding in its monetary penalty notice: "However, you should be aware that the early payment discount is not available if you decide to exercise your right of appeal."