Most GDPR emails unnecessary and some illegal, say experts

Many firms have the required consent already; others don't have consent to send a request

The vast majority of emails flooding inboxes across Europe from companies asking for consent to keep recipients on their mailing list are unnecessary and some may be illegal, privacy experts have said, as new rules over data privacy come into force at the end of this week.

Many companies, acting based on poor legal advice, a fear of fines of up to a20m (17.5m) and a lack of good examples to follow, have taken what they see as the safest option for hewing to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): asking customers to renew their consent for marketing communications and data processing.