Abstract:

In the course of the last ten years, the opinion and market research activities have been increasingly threatened by data protection laws which did not take properly into account the role and the specificities of our profession. Regulations have been introduced, or are currently developed in most of the European countries : Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the Council of Europe has issued a re- commendation to the Member States (regarding the protection of personal data used for scientific research and statistics). Not all of these laws (project of laws) are equally restrictive but most of them include provisions which do represent immediate or potential big dangers for our profession. ESOMAR - which published in 1948 already a comprehensive Code of Ethics, now the joint ICC/ESOMAR Code on Marketing and Social Research practices - has observed these evolutions with much care and attention.