New Rules for Direct Marketing in Germany

The latest revision of the German Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz) marks another milestone in a step-by-step shift to a strict opt-in standard for direct marketing. Although cold calls and unsolicited commercial e-mail communication had already been banned, the German legislator has now restricted the secondary promotional processing and use of personal data for any means of communication. The new law, which came into effect on 1 September 2009, applies to any data controller processing or using personal data for marketing purposes in Germany. As a consequence, even a company headquartered abroad has to adhere to the strict rules if its German branch is involved in
the data collection, processing or use.
Interestingly enough, the few exceptions to the opt-in requirement are tailored to the needs of companies that are already trading and can rely on existing customer databases. Newcomers however, in particular foreign companies that seek to enter the German market, will find it more difficult and costly to contact German customers individually to promote goods and services.