Robinson list

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Robinson list is a protective list with contact details of people who do not want to receive unsolicited advertising. They serve to protect consumers against unwanted advertising via mail , e-mail , mobile phone , landline phone and fax .

The name Robinson List is chosen to echo the story of the fictional character Robinson Crusoe , who spent many years lonely on a remote island, with no connection to the outside world.

Protective effect of advertising bans and Robinson lists

A general advertising ban is socially hardly possible. The direct mail , however, can be politically restricted, all or at least some provided by the citizen communication channels can then not be used for unsolicited advertising. One level of protection below is the Robinson lists with the blocking of individual consumers by name.

The enforcement of the law against spammers operating from abroad is problematic. The effect of Robinson lists is also limited. Not all advertisers are members of the clubs or associations leading Robinson lists or adhere to the voluntary obligation , especially not those who have their headquarters abroad.

A further complicating factor is that if the sender is concealed (call number suppression / forgery), it is difficult to identify the interferer.

Mode of action

Protection lists exist in many countries, they are mostly financed or co-financed by the private sector and are kept by advertising companies, consumer protection associations and associations in the advertising industry. Entry in a Robinson list is free.

The companies undertake to comply with the registered consumers' request for freedom of advertising and not to make any commercial contact with them. Robinson lists protect companies, among other things, from being warned with costs for unauthorized use of purchased data. Whoever is not on the Robinson list will probably not take legal action against unauthorized advertising. Robinson lists therefore benefit the advertising industry and consumers.

The technical implementation in the databases of company systems usually have a Boolean variable , which in further processing within marketing - campaigns is queried and indicates whether the associated customer wants to be excluded from such a campaign.

The protection lists usually work according to the all-or-nothing principle : a consumer can only block his address in general for advertising. In some cases, broadly specific industries can also be selected. However, it is not possible to specifically authorize companies. Due to the way Robinson lists work, they cannot prevent unaddressed or partially addressed unsolicited advertising such as direct mail - however, users can attach appropriate stickers to their mailboxes.

criticism

Should a Robinson list become public, for example through an error or an indiscretion, the effect could be directly opposite to the desired goal, and the listed addresses could be used specifically for advertising. This risk is reduced by storing all data in encrypted form and only using special synchronization programs to eject precisely those entries that are already in the database of the synchronizer (and that should be deactivated).

Germany

The following Robinson lists currently exist in Germany.

  • The German Dialog Marketing Association e. V. (DDV) has kept a Robinson list for addressed advertising letters since 1971. The entry, which can be made both in general and only for certain areas, is possible by letter to PF 1454, 33244 Gütersloh, and online. Inclusion in the list is valid for five years to ensure that it is up to date. The DDV Robinson list contains around 950,000 entries (as of June 2018).
  • The German Internet Association (I. D. I.) has been keeping Robinson lists for e-mail, mobile phone, telephone, mail and fax since 1996. The entry or creation of a protection account is possible by letter, fax and online. The entry is unlimited.

In Germany, according to Sections 3 and 7 of the Act against Unfair Competition, unsolicited telephone advertising without prior customer contact (so-called "cold calls") as well as the sending of advertising faxes and advertising e-mails without the recipient's prior consent are prohibited. Further laws are occasionally discussed in politics. Data protection plays a major role.

Austria

In Austria, the Robinson list is the so-called ECG list under the E-Commerce Act. People and companies who do not want to receive advertising e-mails can sign up for this list free of charge. To do this, it is necessary to send an email to “einhaben@ecg.rtr.at” with the subject “Register RTR-ECG list”. A form is also available on the RTR homepage to enter individual email addresses or entire domains. An entry can also be made on the WKO page of the Association for Advertising and Market Communication.

Switzerland

The SDV Swiss Dialog Marketing Association (SDV) keeps a Robinson list.

Great Britain

In the UK, the Mailing Preference Service is provided by the Direct Marketing Association . In the United Kingdom about the media regulatory body is also (Ofcom / Office of Communications ) also responsible for monitoring the advertising industry and partly funded the Telephone Preference Service (telephone service information). Information in these databases is used to filter address and telephone lists: the affiliated companies undertake not to call or write to those registered.

Other countries

  • In Belgium , Denmark and Spain the lists are called Robinson lists as in the German-speaking countries (De Robinson-lijst / Robinsonlisten / La liste Robinson / Servicio de Lista Robinson).
  • In New Zealand , the Robinson List service is provided by the New Zealand Name Removal Service , which is maintained by the Marketing Association of New Zealand .

Telephone Robinson lists

  • In Sweden , a Robinson list for telephone advertising is called Nix-Telefon .
  • In the Netherlands , a Robinson list for telephone advertising is called bel-me-niet (“don't call me”).
  • The United States has the National Do Not Call Registry , which dates back to federal law from 2003 and is maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (consumer protection agency).
  • In Canada , there is a similarly organized National Do Not Call List ( "national reputation-not-to-list"), by the Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Canadian (Media Authority) is maintained.
  • In Australia , a Do Not Call Register was established in 2006, which will be established by the Australian Communications and Media Authority .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Robinson list - Werbestopper.de. In: werbestopper.de. Retrieved December 22, 2016 .
  2. ↑ c't of November 8, 2001: IT associations do not believe in Robinson lists
  3. ↑ FOCUS Magazin No. 47, 2001, November 19, 2001: Internet: Controversial Spam Protection
  4. ↑ In Germany this has been implemented for the two largest Postrobinsonian lists.
  5. ↑ DDV Robinson List
  6. ↑ https://www.ichhabediewahl.de/?id=85&cid=42 Accessed on May 11, 2019
  7. ↑ robinsonliste.de
  8. ↑ Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information: Application notes for business on the collection, processing and use of personal data for advertising purposes. Status: September 2014
  9. ↑ "Die Umweltberatung": Information on the Robinson list in Austria
  10. ↑ RTR - Spam - unwanted messages. In: www.rtr.at. Retrieved December 22, 2016 .
  11. ↑ RTR - Entry in the ECG list. Retrieved May 15, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Wiedner Hauptstraße 571040 ViennaTelefon + 43 5 90 900 3504E-Mail var username = "advertising"; var hostname = "wko at"; $ attr; $ html; Webhttps: // wko at / werbungDetailed contact page: Robinson list. Retrieved on May 27, 2020 (German).
  13. ↑ Swiss Robinson List