The anti-consumerist organisation Adbusters believes that each of us is subjected to 3,000 marketing messages every day. We have a rather fraught relationship with those messages; sometimes they're more useful than we'd care to admit, but we generally condemn them as intrusive and unwanted.
Email marketing messages tend to be thought of as particularly bothersome, but this week consumers have had an opportunity to register their displeasure. As new regulations come into force in the European Union, thousands of organisations have been frantically emailing their entire marketing database to ask nicely for permission to continue sending out emails.
Giving people more control over their data
In a world where we often feel powerless against the marketing onslaught, it feels unusual and rather refreshing for companies to be begging us for approval. But the result of this exercise has been rather predictable: if you ask people directly if they want to be marketed at, they relish the opportunity to demonstrate their indifference.
These new regulations, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, have caused consternation among businesses worldwide, large and small. Their attempts to comply with a European law that carries enormous fines for non-compliance have been frantic, almost panic-stricken. Consumers, meanwhile, have regarded their beseeching emails as just another form of spam. As these digital pleas fall on deaf ears, it's estimated that some marketing departments may have to shed up to 80 per cent of their email databases, denying them a very useful and direct method of peddling their wares.
In some ways, this is what the GDPR was intended to do: shift the balance of power away from businesses and give people more control over their data, who uses it and for what purpose. But the legislation is dense, complex and poorly understood. Businesses, charities and even amateur theatre groups are gripped by the fear that their possession of an email database represents a kind of ticking timebomb, and this fear has resulted in plenty of bad advice and overly hasty actions. Some online businesses, wanting to be safe rather than sorry, have even stated their intention to entirely purge any online accounts belonging to customers they do not hear back from, erasing all trace of them from their system. But this, according to data protection experts, is likely to be an extreme overreaction.
So what's the issue?
The thorny issue at the centre of the GDPR panic is one of consent, and it's one that we've all had experience of when shopping online. Since the dawn of e-commerce, firms have used subterfuge to get us to agree to receiving marketing messages. The most common form of this is the pre-ticked box accompanied by a convoluted phrase such as: "Don't untick this box if you don't want not to hear from us again." Rather than work out what that actually means, we leave the box ticked, and a few days later we discover that we've unwittingly signed ourselves up to a marketing campaign. This, according to GDPR, does not constitute consent any more than leaving your front door open is an invitation for strangers to burgle your property.
No, consent has to be unambiguous, which involves asking us a question and giving us the opportunity to make a clear decision to opt in. (If GDPR has only one lasting effect across the internet, the clearing up of online forms to rid them of these so-called “dark patterns” that force us to behave against our will would be very welcome indeed.) Many organisations, of course, have collected email addresses in a perfectly legitimate way. If they already had unambiguous consent to send marketing emails, they did not need to ask again, but this has not been made very clear.
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Read more:
New EU data protection law a milestone in privacy regulation
Europe's new GDPR data protection ruling will affect companies in the UAE
Facebook data saga boosts demand for ethical consultants, analysts say
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And so the current deluge of email hurtling around the planet is a combination of blameless organisations misunderstanding their responsibilities, and others desperately trying to clean up their act before tomorrow’s deadline.
This action by the EU may herald the moment when all organisations are forced to take individuals’ online privacy more seriously and pay greater respect to our right to not be pestered and cajoled.
But while the GDPR has beefed up laws and the penalties for breaking them, many countries have had such laws in place for years, and the current emailing spree by GDPR-fearing companies is highlighting previous misdemeanours. Take the Japanese multinational Honda: in 2016 it sent out 289,790 emails to obtain clarification from customers on their email preferences ahead of GDPR, but British regulators ruled that they did not have permission to send those 289,790 emails, and fined them.
Therein lies the irony of GDPR: emails sent in an attempt to comply with the law may, in fact, fall foul of it. The law tends to have a reputation for failing to keep up with the internet. This time, however, it appears to have real teeth.
Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%C2%A0profile
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The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP%204
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
25%20Days%20to%20Aden
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
