Spam calls will be prohibited from June 29th

Companies will be prohibited from using call centres and telesales teams to make unwanted commercial calls known as 'spam' in Spain, including the Canary Islands, from June 29^th to anyone that hasn’t given their consent.

These companies will face fines from the Spanish Agency for Data Protection under the General Telecommunications Law, which was published in the Official Boletin (BOE) on 29^th June 2022, which included an article that included this prohibition that comes into effect next week.

The regulations established in article 66 of this law gave a period of one year for the part regarding spam calls to come into force and will apply if you are called on a mobile or landline number assigned in Spain, according to sources from the Secretary of State for Telecommunications.

If a company continues with spam calls without your consent, the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) can initiate disciplinary action against the company regardless of where it is located, and those using call centres based in another country.

Specifically, the law establishes that users will have the right "not to receive unwanted calls for commercial communication purposes, unless there is prior consent from the user to receive this type of commercial communication, or unless the communication can be supported by another legitimate basis in article 6.1 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the processing of personal data".

Of course, there are exceptions, such as a call made to ‘protect vital interests’, or for the fulfilment of a mission carried out in the public interest, among others.