It is expected that from January 2026 charities will be able to send electronic mail marketing about their charitable purposes without the recipient’s consent, as long as they meet a number of requirements. This is being referred to as the ‘charitable purpose soft opt-in’.
This new way for charities to send electronic mail marketing has been added to the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
The ICO is looking for feedback on their approach and they will use the information you provide to help them update their guidance to reflect the change.
- You can find more information about the new rules on the ICO website.
- You can also view the existing guidance on the ICO website.
The consultation will remain open until 11:59pm on Thursday 27 November 2025.
