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Can I use third-party email marketing tools that collect personal information in Washington? What are the requirements?

To use third-party email marketing tools that collect personal information in Washington State, you must comply with the state’s laws and regulations regarding the disclosure and sharing of personal information.

Limits on Sharing Account Number Information for Marketing Purposes [1.1]

According to WAAC 284-04-310, a licensee shall not disclose a policy number or similar form of access number or access code for a consumer’s policy or transaction account to any nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing, or other marketing through electronic mail to the consumer, except in certain circumstances. These exceptions include disclosing the information to the licensee’s service provider solely to perform marketing for the licensee’s own products or services, to a licensee who is a producer solely to perform marketing for the licensee’s own products or services, or to a participant in an affinity or similar program where the participants in the program are identified to the customer when the customer enters into the program.

Limits on Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Financial Information to Nonaffiliated Third Parties [1.3][1.2]

WAAC 284-04-300 limits the disclosure of nonpublic personal financial information to nonaffiliated third parties. A licensee may not disclose any nonpublic personal financial information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated third party unless the licensee has provided the consumer with an initial notice, an opt-out notice, and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of the disclosure. The licensee must comply with this section regardless of whether the licensee and the consumer have established a customer relationship. However, there is an exception to opt-out requirements for disclosure of nonpublic personal financial information for service providers and joint marketing. Licensees may provide nonpublic personal financial information to a nonaffiliated third party to perform services for the licensee or functions on the licensee’s behalf, if the licensee provides the initial notice in accordance with WAC 284-04-200 and enters into a contractual agreement with the third party that prohibits the third party from disclosing or using the information other than to carry out the purposes for which the licensee disclosed the information, including use under an exception in WAC 284-04-405 or 284-04-410 in the ordinary course of business to carry out those purposes.

Unpermitted or Misleading Electronic Mail—Prohibition [2.1]

No person may initiate the transmission, conspire with another to initiate the transmission, or assist the transmission, of a commercial electronic mail message from a computer located in Washington or to an electronic mail address that the sender knows, or has reason to know, is held by a Washington resident that uses a third party’s internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message.

Conclusion

To use third-party email marketing tools that collect personal information in Washington State, you must comply with the state’s laws and regulations regarding the disclosure and sharing of personal information. You may not disclose a policy number or similar form of access number or access code for a consumer’s policy or transaction account to any nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing, or other marketing through electronic mail to the consumer, except in certain circumstances. You may not disclose any nonpublic personal financial information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated third party unless you have provided the consumer with an initial notice, an opt-out notice, and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of the disclosure. However, there is an exception to opt-out requirements for disclosure of nonpublic personal financial information for service providers and joint marketing. Finally, you may not initiate the transmission of a commercial electronic mail message that uses a third party’s internet domain name without permission of the third party, or otherwise misrepresents or obscures any information in identifying the point of origin or the transmission path of a commercial electronic mail message.

Source(s):
Jurisdiction

Washington