Legitimate interest in marketing is a legal basis that allows personal data to be processed without consent when the company has a legitimate interest in the processing and that interest outweighs the interests and rights of the data subject. It is used, for example, when contacting existing customers with an offer of similar goods, for basic analytics, or for fraud prevention. The condition is to carry out and document a so-called balancing test, in which the company describes its interest, assesses the impact on the individual, and explains why the processing is proportionate and to be expected. The data subject always has the right to object, and in the case of direct marketing their objection must be complied with without exception. Legitimate interest is therefore not a universal substitute for consent, but an option with a clearly defined scope.
See also: Consent to data processing, Legal basis for email marketing, Data subject rights.
