Global Financial Crisis

1. How would the Competition and Consumer and jurisdictional state fair trading Acts affect opportunities to enter one market in which you are interested?

Recent economic events have focused attention on the financial decisions made by

consumers and the practices of retail financial institutions. Many argue that consumer confusion

in the increasingly complex mortgage market contributed to the subprime market meltdown of

2007, which in turn triggered the global financial crisis. More generally, there is widespread

concern that consumers are being asked to take increasing responsibility for their own financial

wellbeing in retirement, and that many households are ill prepared for this task.

While consumer financial regulation has always been an important element of public

policy, it has received much greater emphasis recently. One of the first actions of the 111th

Congress under the new Obama administration was passage of the Credit Card Accountability,

Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009, which banned retroactive fee changes and required

consumers to opt-in to over-the-limit fees, among other features.1 A far more comprehensive

approach to the protection of consumers was embodied in the new Bureau of Consumer

Protection established with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer

Protection Act. (Warren, 2007.)The new Bureau is charged with establishing, implementing and

enforcing rules that ensure that “all consumers have access” to financial services and that

markets for these services be “fair, transparent, and competitive.” In particular, the Act

enumerates the following objectives:

(1) consumers are provided with timely and understandable information to make

responsible decisions about financial transactions;

(2) consumers are protected from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices and

from discrimination;

(3) outdated, unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations are regularly identified and

addressed in order to reduce unwarranted regulatory burdens;

(4) Federal consumer financial law is enforced consistently, without regard to the status

of a person as a depository institution, in order to promote fair competition; and

(5) markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and

efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.

2. What are the provisions of the code of practice for one market or marketing method of your choice?

FEDMA represents the direct marketing sector at the European level. Its national members are the Direct

Marketing Associations (DMAs) of 12 countries of the European Union (all except Belgium, Luxembourg

and Denmark) and Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republics, which represent

users, service providers and media/carriers of direct marketing. FEDMA also has about 350 direct company

members.

Representing directly, or indirectly through the trade associations, a total of around 10,000 European direct

marketing practitioners, FEDMA is ideally placed to draw up a European data protection code of practice for

practitioners, which it has prepared following discussions with the Article 29 Group. This essential instrument

represents an interpretation of the European Data Protection Directive in terms designed to be understood by

direct marketers; in some areas of the Directive where practice already goes beyond the level set by the

Directive – or where FEDMA recommends that it should – such higher standards of practice are incorporated.

All the national members of FEDMA, i.e. the trade associations, have agreed that their own national codes

will in every respect maintain levels of protection for data subjects at least as high as those provided by the

FEDMA Code, although – where national laws or self regulation oblige or allow – their national code may

reflect even higher standards.

The code is designed primarily as an instrument of best practice, and it is intended for use as a reference

document within the framework of applicable laws. Direct members of FEDMA will operate to the standards

laid down in the FEDMA Code, subject always to their obligation to comply with their relevant national laws

or self-regulatory provisions. This code is not intended to reduce or replace the applicability of national laws

and regulations.

FEDMA hopes, and will actively promulgate the view, that the FEDMA Code should also be regarded by all

European direct marketing practitioners – whether members or not – as the general standard or custom and

practice for the Industry as a whole.

It is also accepted by FEDMA that this Code of practice is merely the first stage in the ongoing development

of effective best practice in the area of data protection. As subsequent editions of the Code become more

sophisticated and continue to mirror the best and ever increasing aspirations of responsible practitioners and

major changes in EU legislation, so will Industry practices across the board be raised to levels constantly

matching the legitimate and growing expectations of the Industry’s customers.

It is as well to remember that the data protection legislation applies to the processing of personal data using

any medium.

2

It should be noted that different means of communication used by direct marketing have attracted different

regulations. Directives 97/66/EC (Telecommunication and Privacy) and 97/7/EC (Distance Selling) require

the consent of the data subject before a commercial communication can be sent to him/her by fax or automatic

calling unit. Directive 2002/58/EC (Privacy and Electronic Communication) in addition requires that consent

is needed before using electronic communications (e.g. e-mailing) to consumers who have no previous

relationship with the data controller.

This code should be read in conjunction with the other FEDMA existing and forthcoming codes of practice,

including the European principles for the use of the telephone as a marketing medium by business, and The

Electronic Commerce Code of Conduct for European Business. This code should also be applied with the

Global Conventions on Mailing and Telephone Preference Services and the Global E-mail Preference Service

principles1.

The code is designed to be applied to the use of personal data by direct marketers within the EU and those

non-EU countries2, which have national data protection laws in line with the EU Directive.

3. What is the definition of a market and of a market segment?

1.the definition of market segement:market segmentation is to divide a large market into some small subsets in which those consumers have the same need of the goods or services.
2.as to how to segment:i think the customer group could be identified by gender,age and location.Sometimes income level and education level also count a lot.Last but not the least,you need to be aware that the consumers could be segmented into more than one consumer group.

4. How does legislation protect consumers from online marketing?