AustriaTKG 2021
Officially Telekommunikationsgesetz 2021 (TKG 2021), Advertising Calls and Caller Identification (Section 174(1) and (2))
TKG 2021, BGBl. I Nr. 190/2021, § 174 Abs. 1-2
In force since .
A telephone contact rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Obtain the user's prior consent before you make a call, or send a fax transmission, for advertising purposes.
- Consent given by a person whom the end user has authorized to use their connection counts as the user's consent.
- Treat the consent as revocable at any time; revoking it does not affect the contract with the party it was given to.
- Do not suppress or falsify the caller identification on a telephone call for advertising purposes, and do not cause the service provider to suppress or falsify it.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Penalty structure
Section 188(6) Z 9: an advertising call contrary to section 174(1) is an administrative offence punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 euro and, if the fine cannot be collected, imprisonment of up to six weeks.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 100,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Fernmeldebüro, the telecommunications authority that is competent for the official acts the Act provides for unless otherwise stated (section 192(3)); section 188(11) assigns to the federal government the fines the Fernmeldebüro imposes. Appeal lies to the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (section 192(5)).
What this law does
Section 174(1) makes calls, including the sending of fax transmissions, for advertising purposes without the user's prior consent inadmissible. The consent of a person whom the end user has authorized to use their connection is equal to the user's consent. The consent can be revoked at any time, and revocation does not affect a contract with the addressee of the consent.
Section 174(2) bars the caller from suppressing or falsifying the caller identification on a telephone call for advertising purposes, and from causing the service provider to do so. Section 4 Z 13 of the Act defines a user as a natural or legal person who contractually uses or applies for a publicly available communications service. Section 188(6) Z 9 makes an advertising call contrary to section 174(1) an administrative offence.
The administrative offences in section 188(6) carry a fine of up to 100,000 euro. Section 188(4) Z 27 makes suppressing or falsifying the caller identification contrary to section 174(2) an administrative offence.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.