Legitimate Interest
One of the lawful bases under GDPR for processing personal data, used when you have a genuine business reason that is not overridden by the individual's rights, and which does not require their consent.
Why it matters
Legitimate interest is the basis many B2B marketers rely on for activities like some prospecting and analytics, but it is widely misunderstood as a free pass, and it requires a documented balancing of your interest against the person's rights.
What good looks like
Relying on it properly means identifying a real, specific interest, showing the processing is necessary for it, and documenting that it does not unfairly override the individual's rights and expectations (a legitimate interest assessment).
In the European market
Even where legitimate interest covers the data processing, Germany's UWG can still require prior consent for the marketing contact itself. The basis and the contact are two different questions.
Related terms
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