May We Market to Them? — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

The Compliance, Privacy, and Data Roles lesson describes two approaches privacy laws take to marketing. Opt-out: the company may contact the data subject and market to them until the person says they do not want it. Once they opt out, the company has to stop, and it may not use their data to market to them. Consent: the company may not market to the person at all until the person says yes. Silence is not a yes. If the person later takes the yes back, the company has to stop. So the same person, with the same history, can be fair game under one approach and off limits under the other. A customer who has never said anything may get the newsletter under an opt-out approach, but not under a consent approach. A quick test for each card: under this approach, what has the person said, and does that open the door or close it?

What you'll learn

Apply an opt-out approach and a consent approach to a person's answers, and decide whether a company may market to that person
Recognize that under an opt-out approach marketing may go ahead until the person says stop, and under a consent approach it may not start until the person says yes

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

5.4 Summarize elements of effective security compliance.

NIST NICE

K0681 Knowledge of privacy principles and practices

K0678 Knowledge of privacy laws and regulations

Key terms

Consent: A privacy principle requiring that organizations obtain explicit permission from individuals before collecting, using, or sharing their personal data.
Data Subject: An individual whose personal data is being collected and processed by another party.
Privacy: The right of individuals to be free from unauthorized observation or disturbance, including the protection of personal data held by organizations.

Topics

Privacy Consent Interactive Streak Sort

About TechKnowSurge

TechKnowSurge builds IT and cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, concept-first training built around real understanding — not memorization. Free interactive tools, structured programs, and 25+ years of real-world experience, all in one place.

Explore free tools and programs →