Ban on Unwanted Advertising Calls Comes into Force in France

In France, new telephone marketing rules came into force on August 11. From now on, companies are prohibited from calling consumers with commercial offers without prior explicit consent.

The country has shifted from an opt-out to an opt-in principle. Previously, French residents had to register their number in the Bloctel system to avoid receiving advertising calls. Now, companies must first obtain a person's permission, and the Bloctel service is ceasing operations.

Consent for calls must be voluntary, specific, understandable, and confirmed by an active action of the consumer. Its maximum duration is one year, but a person can withdraw permission at any time, including verbally during a conversation.

Companies must store evidence of obtaining consent for at least three years. The documents must indicate the date, time, information provided to the consumer, and the duration of permission. Upon request, this data must be available for inspection.

Without prior consent, a call remains possible if it concerns the performance of an existing contract and is directly related to its subject matter. A separate exception is provided for offers regarding subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and periodicals.

Even with permission, calls may only be made Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 20:00 in the consumer's time zone. A single person may not be called more than four times within 30 days. If they refuse to continue the conversation, the company must immediately end the call and not contact them again.

In the areas of energy renovation, housing adaptation for the elderly or people with disabilities, and personal professional training accounts, telephone marketing is completely prohibited. Responding to a consumer's request is allowed only within five working days and exclusively regarding the product or service they inquired about.

An illegal call can result in a fine of up to €75,000 for an individual and up to €375,000 for a company. The French consumer protection authority DGCCRF will also publish information about the imposed sanctions.

Source: DGCCRF, French Ministry of Economy.