Proposed Law Could Cripple DM in Mexico: DMA
The Direct Marketing Association is calling on the industry to support the Mexican DMA in lobbying against a proposed Federal Personal Data Protection Law that would cripple direct marketing in that country.
The law, which could be adopted by the Mexican Congress in its fall session, would legislate mandatory opt-in requirements for the use of all personal data by companies for marketing purposes. It would also make it illegal to transfer personal data to other companies for purposes such as list rental, or to send data outside Mexico to the United States.
Charles Prescott, vice president, international business development and government affairs for the DMA, told DIRECT Newsline that if adopted, the law would effectively not only end database construction in Mexico but the country’s growing 40.7 billion peso ($546 million USD) DM industry and its 139,000 jobs as well.
“This is a constant battle in country after country of educating the policy makers of what the reality is in business, government and the private sector in the information age,” said Prescott, calling the proposed law “fairly horrible.”
“[There is] a need to build flexibility in the system to let the information age happen,” he continued. “The implications are disastrous for DMA member companies in the U.S. and all companies with operations in Mexico. If a company is developing databases for marketing or for enterprise management, such as human resources, you won’t be able to bring the data to the United States, and what you will be able to do in Mexico will be severely limited.”
H. Robert Wientzen, president & CEO of the DMA, noted in a statement that the proposed law would also reduce Mexico’s ability to become a bigger player in the world economy. “It will also dramatically reduce the amount of foreign investment in other allied areas, such as information technology,” he added.
Prescott said industry support is crucial, because the Mexican DMA does not have a deep lobbying budget. Reader’s Digest, American Express and other companies have joined a task force formed by the Mexican DMA to address this and other issues. For information, contact Roxana Penagos, regional legal director for Latin America, Reader’s Digest Mexico, at [email protected]
