Referral C-317/25 (Groupe Canal +, 6 May 2025)

(1) Must [point 11 of Article 4] of the GDPR, read in conjunction with Articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR and Article 13 of Directive [2002/58/EC] of 12 July 2002, be interpreted as meaning that the data subject’s consent given to a primary collector for his or her data to be used by a category of recipients, such as, in the present case, the ‘partners’ of ISPs (internet service providers), may be regarded as free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent enabling any person belonging to that category to engage in electronic direct marketing without having to seek consent again, or does the combination of those provisions imply, in such a case, that any recipient of the personal data collected whose identity was not known to the data subject at the time consent was given to the primary collector must obtain that person’s consent before being able to conduct direct marketing on him or her in its capacity as the new controller?

(2) If it is to be assumed that the consent given by the data subject to a primary collector to his or her data being used by a category of recipients for electronic direct marketing may be regarded as informed consent within the meaning of the provisions cited above, is the degree of precision of the concept of ‘category’ of recipients significant or may it, as in the present case, merely refer to any ‘partner’ of the primary collector?