New initiative in Germany wants consumers' OK for unaddressed letterbox advertisement

摘要

At the end of 2020, German consumers' association Letzte Werbung filed a renewed petition against unsolicited letterbox advertisements. Together with environmental association Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), the association has submitted around 97,000 signatures to the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), demanding that non-addressed advertisements should be distributed in letterboxes only with express consent of consumers. The opt-out system currently in place permits distribution of such advertising material as along as the consumer has not objected e.g., by putting a sticker on the letterbox. Letzte Werbung and DUH say that they want to achieve a reversal of the principle, by which, it would not be permissible by default to distribute unaddressed advertisements. That would require an explicit "Advertisements -yes please" note on the letterbox.