Finally quiet on the phone?

Peace on the phone at last

The phone rings. Nothing unusual. Actually, it should ring much earlier. Finally (!), you think, jump up, run and pick up the phone. At the other end there is a short silence and then, unfortunately, you are not greeted by the voices and words you expected, but by sentences like "Congratulations, you have won this and that" or "Hello, we would like to check your entry in our system...". Annoyed, you try to end the conversation, and after a few attempts you succeed and finally hang up.

This or something similar might sound familiar to each of us.

Permitted or not?

Anyone who explicitly consents to the whole gimmick in a form-secure manner may continue to enjoy the daily telephone calls with various people. After all, if personal data is used to advertise products or various services to consumers by telephone, unambiguous consent is required in accordance with Paragraph 2 No. 2 of Section 7UWG.

Effective consent

Not every consent promises the peace of mind longed for. The wording is crucial. The purpose, the entity to be processed, the conditions, the data recipient, and exactly what data is involved should be evident. In June, the legislature passed the "Act against dubious business practices". This means that contracts for sweepstake services may now only be concluded in text form, and the fine for unauthorized advertising calls has increased six-fold to €300,000.

Trick and tips

Since telemarketing is not prohibited, it may happen from time to time that you receive one or the other advertising call. You can get a little more peace of mind if you do not make your phone number publicly available, do not share it freely with third parties, make use of your right to object or block penetrating phone numbers.