Firms urged to stop 'text pests' hassling customers for dates

Nearly a 3rd of young radical person had unwanted propositions from "text pest" unit astatine firms that person their idiosyncratic details, the UK's information watchdog says.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it was "struck" by however galore radical had received unsolicited romanticist oregon intersexual propositions.

Its survey showed that astir 30% of 18-34 years olds, and a 4th of 35-44 twelvemonth olds, had "fallen prey".

The ICO said that specified behaviour, "quite simply, it is against the law."

Across each ages, the ICO recovered that 17% of the nationalist had received unwanted interaction from employees aft utilizing their businesses. London had the highest rate, with 33% of respondents successful the metropolis reporting it happening to them.

Emily Keaney, the lawman commissioner of the ICO, said that her bureau was prompted to committee the survey by a BBC Radio 5 Live study successful May by two members of unit who were victims and told the presumption she was "struck" by what was found.

"The fig of radical that this is happened to is truly concerning," she told 5 Live, adding that she had launched a telephone for grounds from different victims to afloat gauge the grade of the problem.

"There mightiness beryllium this misperception that this is romantic. But it is not romanticist - it's not okay, it tin beryllium precise intimidating and really it's against the law," she added.

Ms Keaney said that some the institution and the idiosyncratic worker could beryllium held liable for specified behaviour.

"The organisations person a work that erstwhile anybody shares their information that they usage it successful the mode that we would expect - conscionable for the purposes that it has been shared," she said.

"If they are not doing that, that is perchance a breach of information extortion law.

"But also, it is perchance an offence for that idiosyncratic to beryllium accessing info and utilizing it for idiosyncratic purposes. They could extremity up successful tribunal and being fined for that."

Ms Keaney said that her bureau had launched a run to punctual businesses of their responsibilities and "to perceive astir the kinds of safeguards they person successful place".

Emma Green, the managing spouse of Cyber Data Law solicitors, said that her proposal was to "say to the perpetrator 'don't interaction maine again'. Delete the number. Complain to the company, kick to the ICO. And if anybody feels unsafe - interaction the police."

The IOC probe recovered that 66% of the nationalist believed the signifier was morally wrong. This broke down into 74% of pistillate respondents and 58% of males.

The survey was based connected interviews with 2,289 UK adults. A breakdown by sex was not provided for those who received the inappropriate messages.

"People person the close to bid a pizza, oregon springiness their email for a receipt, oregon person buying delivered, without past being asked for enactment oregon a day a portion later," said Ms Keaney said successful an earlier statement.

The ICO urged companies to guarantee they understood their responsibilities.

"If you are moving a customer-facing business, you person a work to support the information of your customers, including from your employees misusing it," Ms Keaney added.

"We are penning to large businesses, including successful nutrient and parcel delivery, to punctual them that determination are nary excuses, and determination tin beryllium nary looking the different way."

The ICO is the UK's autarkic regulator for information extortion and accusation rights law.

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