EU ePrivacy Article 13 and UK PECR regulations 22–23 side by side: prior consent, the soft opt-in, sender identity and opt-out — plus the GDPR consent tests.
The UK's PECR implemented the same Directive the EU still applies, so the two regimes mostly line up. They differ in the wording that decides edge cases — 'in the course of the sale or negotiations for the sale' (UK) against 'in the context of the sale' (EU) — and the UK has added a charity soft opt-in. Each cell links to the rule record and its primary source.
| Question | European Union | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Prior consent for marketing email Same rule. Both cover sending on your behalf: the UK text says 'instigate' in terms. | ePrivacy Directive Article 13(1) Marketing email starts with consent. | PECR regulation 22(2) UK marketing email needs prior consent. |
| Existing-customer exception (soft opt-in) UK: details from a sale or negotiations for a sale. EU: from customers in the context of a sale. Both: own similar products, free refusal at collection and in every message. | ePrivacy Directive Article 13(2) The customer exception, all four conditions. | PECR regulation 22(3) The UK soft opt-in. |
| Sender identity and a valid opt-out address Same four prohibitions; the UK version points at regulation 7 of the UK e-Commerce Regulations 2002 instead of Article 6 of the Directive. | ePrivacy Directive Article 13(4) Say who you are. Give a way out. | PECR regulation 23 No masked sender in UK marketing email. |
| What counts as valid consent Both regimes take the GDPR standard of consent; the UK applies its own retained version of the GDPR, which this library does not yet carry as a separate record. | GDPR Article 4(11) Four words decide whether consent is consent. GDPR Article 7(2) Not inside the terms. Next to them. GDPR Article 7(4) Don't make the service the price of consent. | No equivalent record. |
| Unsubscribe and objection In both, refusal is offered in every message; under the GDPR an objection to direct marketing ends that processing. | GDPR Article 7(3) One click in, one click out. GDPR Article 21(2)–(3) An objection to marketing ends it. | PECR regulation 22(3) The UK soft opt-in. |
Every cell is a rule record with its primary source and the date it was read (4 November 2026). All records: GDPR rule records · PECR rule records.
General, sourced information for marketing teams — not legal advice. Where a campaign runs in both markets, check it against both columns.
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