DATA PROTECTION : EUROPEAN POSTAL OPERATORS CONCERNED ABOUT ADVERTISING MAIL.

Although they may be less visible than web players or even SMEs, European postal operators also have concerns about the draft regulation on personal data protection being examined by the European Parliament.

Their problem is not one of having to request the consent of European citizens before using their data for commercial purposes, but of seeing limits on the prospecting techniques that can be used for direct marketing, ie advertising mail addressed personally to potential consumers.

"For the sake of technological neutrality, the same rules will apply to direct marketing and the...