Bluespam and the French National Commission on Data Protection (CNIL)

The article deals with the sending of marketing messages using Bluetooth technology. It analyses the position of the French National Commission on Data Protection (CNIL—Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés), which considers that the French Data Protection Act applies to this practice through a very broad interpretation of the concept of personal data.There is a detailed analysis of the CNIL's position, in the light of the arguments developed by the actors involved in Bluetooth advertising.The question of the content sent via Bluetooth, ie Bluespam, is considered and the CNIL's position analysed.The French response is placed in a European context. Focusing on the legal situation in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the article explains why the European anti-spam provision of the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC as recently modified applies to Bluetooth marketing and that the WP29 has adopted recently the same position as the CNIL.