Germany. ePrivacy / marketing. Act
UWG §7Act against Unfair Competition (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb – UWG), §7 unreasonable harassment
In force
Partly verified
Low confidence.Not verified this session.
§1Summary
- Synopsis
UWG §7 forbids e-mail, SMS and automated-call marketing without prior express consent, and cold calls to consumers without consent, with a narrow soft opt-in for existing customers.
- Key themes
- Unique features
Enforced mainly through competitor and consumer association cease-and-desist actions; double opt-in is the de facto standard for proving consent.
- SaaS relevance
Any SaaS website, app or product that sets non-essential cookies/SDKs or sends marketing emails/SMS to users in this country needs prior consent (subject to exemptions) under this law, regardless of where the provider is based.
§2Obligations
- Extraterritorial
- Yes
- Breach notification
- Telecom providers: authority notification under Reg 611/2013; otherwise GDPR
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- None
- Maximum penalty
- Telephone marketing breaches up to €300,000 (Bundesnetzagentur); civil injunctions and damages
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- Recast 2008; §7(3) soft opt-in for existing customers
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text gesetze-im-internet.de
- English text gesetze-im-internet.de
- Authority
- Private enforcement (competitors, associations); Bundesnetzagentur for telephone marketing
§5Where it applies
- Domestic law of
- Germany
§6Sources and verification
- Verification
Low confidence.
Partly verified
Low confidence.Not verified this session.