The full text of the “declaration for the territory of the federal republic of Germany concerning the new Esomar code’ is available in English and can be found both on the ADM website and the Efamro website.

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First assignment for the three wise men

An interesting feature of the German additions to the Esomar code is the fact that it is applicable to the Federal Republic of Germany; the location of the conducted research is therefore a key issue.
When a face-to-face survey is conducted in Germany, it is perfectly evident as to which jurisdiction is applicable with regard to this particular activity, also in the case of that client conducting its operations from a location over the border.

But things aren’t so clear-cut in an online world. Let us assume the following situation taking place:
A respondent residing in Germany visits a website in the UK. The language featured is German, but the website is hosted in the UK. The respondent views a banner on that website, which asks him/her to participate in a questionnaire. The respondent reads the web pages featuring the questions, and responds to them by sending strokes on a keyboard. The keyboard strokes subsequently arrive in the UK, and there, they are linked as an answer to the question asked. The question was posed in the UK, the answer was first registered in the UK, on the basis of an answer originally sent from Germany.

At the Win meeting held in Paris in April 2008, Esomar President Frits Spangenberg appealed for the formation of a committee of three wise men who would be able to deal with international self-disciplinary disputes. This trio of wise men would then be able to kick off proceedings by making a statement with regard to the case described above. Such incidents are certainly not purely theoretical, as last year, an English institute was rebuked by a German disciplinary committee for precisely this reason.

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Do Europeans trust market research agencies to handle data privacy in a correct manner?

That trust is increasingly diminishing, as displayed by recent results of the Eurobarometer survey conducted by the European Commission.

Although monitor results reveal that the sense of trust concerning data privacy has risen within the past 17 years with regard to a large number of organisations such as the inland revenue, the police force, local authorities, and employers, it also indicates that the only organisations to consistently suffer a loss of trust with the general public in this regard were market and opinion research companies.

Although Market Research and Direct Mail were miles apart in this regard in 1991, the level of trust in 2008 meanwhile seems to have reached a comparable level in a large number of countries.
Respondents in Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK have the least faith in the manner with which market research agencies treat data privacy.

If market research wishes to be able to continue to discern itself from direct marketing, then this can be considered an albeit gradual, but nevertheless worrying development. A strict application and enforcement of the new Esomar code is therefore no excessive measure.

A digital version of the full report can be applied for free of charge at the Efamro secretariat.

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Data privacy of the digital respondent.

Everyone will undoubtedly agree with the position that data privacy concerning personal data is a key basic right of both the consumer and respondent.
But what exactly does personal data entail?
According to the experts in Brussels, personal data entails “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person”.
This implies that e-mail addresses, IP addresses, and information regarding the residence of an individual can be considered to be personal data.
This can have far-reaching consequences for market research; after all, the information may in that case not be used without prior consent from the respondent.
In a digital world, where new developments follow one another in rapid succession, we are confronted with a number of burning questions where data privacy is concerned.
 
- If a market research agency is capable of reading the characteristics of an individual PC to the extent that a PC “fingerprint” can be compiled, without intervention from a service provider, can this information then be used for research purposes without permission of the owner of that PC, for instance to prevent fraudulent actions?
- How does a market research agency that plucks its respondents from the flow of internet traffic (River sampling) obtain the required personal data including the accompanying informed consent within the boundary conditions of the applicable privacy legislation of the country in question and the Esomar code?

A short time ago the new Esomar code was launched, and a considerable number of local associations have now embraced this code. This code saw an amendment in particular to the aspect of a respondent’s right to data privacy, in line with the times, and in preparation for the years ahead (= Fit for the future). It is therefore of the essence that, given all of the new possibilities that the internet has to offer and will have to offer in the future, that this code concerning data privacy must be strongly respected and strictly adhered to.

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The four steps for ISO 20252 subcontracting

Following a discussion between a number of associations of which one can expect that their members will outsource a substantial number of international fieldwork projects under the ISO 20252 banner, the first outlines are emerging of a workable procedure within certification requirements. Agencies aim for a minimum of additional work and a maximum in verifiable and auditable facts. The details are currently in the process of being refined but there is already a strong consensus on the basic four principles.

Principle 1 - The practical and feasible solution will be to use some standard ISO 20252 briefing document, which informs the potential subcontractor of the demands that represent the logical consequence of working under an ISO 20252 accreditation.

Principle 2 - The subcontractor is to provide written confirmation that the requirements will be met.

Principle 3 - The subcontractor is to agree to provide evidence of compliance upon request. This standard briefing document should also specify which key parameters must be open to inspection. It is a matter for the service provider to decide whether to request this evidence.

Principle 4 – At the end of the project the subcontractor is to confirm requirements have indeed been met as part of the research accountability.

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