Hello Alex
I'm sorry if you've read something in my reply that's not there.
I could have been clearer with my response but I that would take time and this is meant as general and short guidance....
Have you read the ico guidance on B2B marketing?
And this section about legitimate interest might be interesting for you to read:
When might legitimate interests be appropriate?
Legitimate interests is the most flexible of the six lawful bases. It is not focused on a particular purpose and therefore gives you more scope to potentially rely on it in many different circumstances.
It may be the most appropriate basis when:
- the processing is not required by law but is of a clear benefit to you or others
With that in mind, I'm not sure where your confusion comes from. The original question was about email data lists, which can be licensed from many providers (not me) or it can be collected by you...
The ico guidance on marketing lists is also interesting and very clear and permits the use of lists. Sadly I can't link to them from here. But the ICO site is my go to reference point.
Anyway, apologies if I confused you with my general guidance. Not meant to lead to a long discussion.
I hope my feedback has helped with the initial query.