In France, a law came into force on August 11, 2026, which prohibits telemarketing and telesales.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the law was driven by about a dozen consumer organizations, and at their initiative, the French parliament drafted the legislation that has now come into force.
The law prohibits both companies and individuals from making unauthorized marketing calls. At the same time, the French state launched a website where those violating the law can be reported.
However, there are a couple of exceptions in the law: a consumer can personally give permission for telesales, but permission can only be given to a specific company, which cannot transfer or extend the consent to other companies. An example of such a situation is when a customer requests a quote from a company via its website and, at the same time, ticks their approval for the company to make sales calls to the customer, both in the form of an offer call and in the future.
The second exception concerns situations where the consumer already has an existing customer relationship with the company. For example, a publishing house may market its other magazines to a customer who already subscribes to one of the group's magazines.
Previously, France used an official "opt out registry", like many other countries, where consumers could inform that they don't want to receive telemarketing calls. Now, the mechanism is basically reversed and consumers need to specifically opt in to receive telemarketing calls (and only from specific firms they've opted in with).
Violations of the law can also result in significant fines, as an individual violating the law can be fined 75,000 euros for each illegally made call. For companies, corresponding fines can be up to 375,000 euros per call.
According to the BBC, a similar complete ban is in force in Europe in at least Italy, Austria, and Germany.
Both Android phones and iPhones are also quite capable of marking phone numbers used by telemarketers as "spam calls", and in most phones, they can also be blocked automatically. But robust legislation is, of course, a significantly more powerful way to completely prevent telemarketing.
The law prohibits both companies and individuals from making unauthorized marketing calls. At the same time, the French state launched a website where those violating the law can be reported.
However, there are a couple of exceptions in the law: a consumer can personally give permission for telesales, but permission can only be given to a specific company, which cannot transfer or extend the consent to other companies. An example of such a situation is when a customer requests a quote from a company via its website and, at the same time, ticks their approval for the company to make sales calls to the customer, both in the form of an offer call and in the future.
The second exception concerns situations where the consumer already has an existing customer relationship with the company. For example, a publishing house may market its other magazines to a customer who already subscribes to one of the group's magazines.
Previously, France used an official "opt out registry", like many other countries, where consumers could inform that they don't want to receive telemarketing calls. Now, the mechanism is basically reversed and consumers need to specifically opt in to receive telemarketing calls (and only from specific firms they've opted in with).
Violations of the law can also result in significant fines, as an individual violating the law can be fined 75,000 euros for each illegally made call. For companies, corresponding fines can be up to 375,000 euros per call.
According to the BBC, a similar complete ban is in force in Europe in at least Italy, Austria, and Germany.
Both Android phones and iPhones are also quite capable of marking phone numbers used by telemarketers as "spam calls", and in most phones, they can also be blocked automatically. But robust legislation is, of course, a significantly more powerful way to completely prevent telemarketing.
