Part 6: Miscellaneous Section 96: Direct marketing code
This section inserts new sections 52AA into the Data Protection Act 1998("the 1998 Act") and makes amendments to sections 51 and 52B to 52E.
	New section 52AA places the Information Commissioner under a duty to publish and keep under review a direct marketing code of practice.
	New section 52AA(1) and (2) provide that the code will contain practical guidance and any other guidance that promotes good practice in direct marketing activities. Good practice is defined as practice that appears to the Information Commissioner to be desirable including, but not limited to, compliance with the requirements of the 1998 Act and the PECR. When deciding what constitutes good practice, the Information Commissioner must have regard to the interests of data subjects and others.
	New section 52AA(3) requires that in preparing the code the Information Commissioner must consult, as he or she considers appropriate, with trade associations, data subjects and persons who represent the interests of data subjects.
	New section 52AA(4) applies the definition of direct marketing in section 11(3) of the 1998 Act, which defines direct marketing as the communication (by whatever means) of any advertising or marketing material which is directed to particular individuals.
	Subsections (3) to (8) amend sections 51(5A) and 52B to 52E of the 1998 Act so that these provisions apply to the direct marketing code of practice as well as to the data-sharing code of practice, established under section 52A. These provisions set out the procedure to be adopted when preparing the code, require the code to be kept under review and altered or replaced as necessary, provide for the publishing of the code and set out the legal effect of the code.