France telemarketing call ban sets fines of up to €375,000 per call
France now generally requires consent before marketing calls, with penalties reaching €375,000 per call for companies.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
France’s telemarketing call ban has taken effect, generally barring businesses from making marketing calls without a consumer’s prior consent. The change replaces a system in which people had to add their numbers to a government no-call list, and it carries potential penalties of up to €375,000 per unlawful call for companies, according to Associated Press reporting.
The law, backed by President Emmanuel Macron’s government and approved by Parliament last year, is intended to curb intrusive sales pitches and reduce consumers’ exposure to fraudulent commercial practices. French authorities estimate that roughly three-quarters of people in the country receive at least one unsolicited sales call each week, the AP reported.
What does France’s telemarketing call ban require?
The default rule is prior permission: a business cannot contact a consumer for marketing without consent, Alice Vilcot, chief of staff at France’s Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Prevention of Fraud, told the AP. Consumers can revoke that consent at any time.
There are two reported exceptions. A consumer may agree to receive marketing calls, including by selecting a consent box on a form. A business may also make a new commercial offer to a customer with whom it already has a contractual relationship.
That shifts the burden from consumers to businesses. Under the former approach, consumers who did not want sales calls had to register their number with a government-operated service. Consumer groups said some call centers failed to respect that list, according to the AP.
How large are the fines for illegal calls?
The maximum penalty depends on who made the illegal call. An individual can face a fine of up to €75,000, about $87,000, for each call. A company can face a fine of up to €375,000, about $435,000, per call, the AP reported.
People who receive unwanted calls can submit reports through a government website, according to the report. Vilcot also cited a €6 million fine imposed on an Ireland-based company in the previous year for calling people listed on France’s former no-call register.
How does France’s rule compare with other countries?
France’s framework is a prior-consent, or opt-in, model. That differs from opt-out systems, under which people add their phone numbers to a registry or preference service to ask businesses not to call.
The AP reported that Germany has had a similar ban since 2009. The Netherlands recently tightened its rules to stop companies from calling their own customers with promotional offers unless they have prior authorization. The report did not establish that those countries’ laws or enforcement systems are otherwise identical to France’s.
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom use opt-out lists or services, the AP reported. In the UK, companies that call people who have opted out may face fines of up to £500,000 per call.
The change has also prompted concern in Morocco, a major location for French-language call-center work. Morocco’s employment minister, Younes Sekkouri, told lawmakers that as many as 50,000 call-center jobs could be at risk, an estimate rather than a recorded outcome. Youssef Chraïbi, president of the Moroccan Federation for Outsourcing Services, said pure telemarketing makes up 15% to 20% of the sector’s activity.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.