E-mail newsletters as prohibited spam

Due to current events: According to case law, the sending of advertising e-mails is subject to a warning if the addressee has not expressly consented beforehand. A newsletter that reports on industry events is also considered an advertising email.

If someone enters a third party's email address in the newsletter sign-up form in bad faith, an opt-in email to the third party's address also constitutes prohibited advertising. This is because the third party has never consented. We consider it wrong that such opt-in e-mails should be prohibited. This is because the opt-in e-mail serves precisely to protect the owner of the e-mail address from unwanted e-mails. Nevertheless, there is a risk due to courts with a different legal opinion.

There are various ways to reduce the risk. The problem can be completely avoided if the sign-up process for the newsletter is reversed and the customer is requested to send an opt-in email to the store operator. This process can be made technically quite convenient via a mailto hyperlink or a POST form.

Date: 5. Aug 2015