AN ELECTRONIC marketing services company has secured a temporary High Court injunction restraining its prosecution by the data protection commissioner for allegedly sending unsolicited texts.
The injunction continues to next month when the matter will again come before the court.
Realm Communications, Castle Drive, City West Business Park, Dublin, is facing prosecution on some 60 summonses arising from complaints against it by 14 people concerning unsolicited texts. Fines of up to €3,000 per message can be imposed on conviction.
The case was due before Dublin District Court next week but the company yesterday initiated a judicial review challenge to the prosecution and also secured a stay on prosecution pending the outcome of that.
Applying for leave to bring the challenge, Colm Ó hOisíSC, for Realm, said its managing director, Tom Higgins, had co-operated fully with the commissioner after regulations governing text messaging services came into force in November 2003.
However, on July 19th last year, Realm was the subject of "a dawn raid" by staff from the commissioner's office in which a significant amount of records and material were removed.
Mr Ó hOisín said there was provision in the regulations for the commissioner to come to an amicable resolution which could mean that no prosecution would be taken.
However, in this case, no such steps were taken and it proceeded to immediate prosecution.
In an affidavit, Mr Higgins said he believed the raid on his offices was totally unnecessary as he was at all times willing to co-operate and had agreed in December 2006 to a suggestion from the commissioner that a "friendly audit" of its records take place.