Marknadsföringslag (Marketing Act), Sections 19, 20 and 20 a, Consent and Opt-out for Marketing by Electronic Mail, Fax and Automatic Systems

Section 19 permits a trader to use electronic mail, fax or an automatic calling system or similar automatic system for individual communication that no individual operates, in marketing to a natural person, only if the person has consented in advance.

Section 19 lifts the consent requirement where the trader obtained the natural person's electronic mail address in connection with a sale of a product to that person, the person has not objected to the address being used for marketing by electronic mail, the marketing concerns the trader's own similar products, and the person is clearly and distinctly given a free and easy chance to object when the address is collected and in every later marketing message.

Section 20 requires a marketing message sent by electronic mail always to contain a valid address to which the recipient can send a request that the marketing stop, and applies that requirement also to marketing to a legal person. Section 20 a prohibits inviting the recipient of marketing of information society services by electronic mail to visit websites whose marketing breaches section 9 or section 10, third paragraph.

Section 29 lets a trader be ordered to pay a market disruption fee (marknadsstörningsavgift) if the trader, or someone acting on its behalf, has intentionally or negligently breached a provision of the Act. Section 31 sets the fee at a minimum of SEK 10,000 and a maximum of 4 percent of the trader's turnover in the financial year before the infringement ended or the summons was served.

Where the infringement occurred in the trader's first year of business or turnover figures are missing or deficient, section 31 allows turnover to be estimated and the fee to be set at up to the amount in kronor corresponding to two million euro. Section 37 makes a person who intentionally or negligently breaches sections 18 to 22 a, among other provisions, liable to compensate the damage that causes a consumer or another trader.

Section 47 lets the Consumer Ombudsman (Konsumentombudsmannen), a trader affected by the marketing or an association of consumers, traders or employees bring an action for a prohibition or an order under sections 23 to 25. Section 48 gives the Consumer Ombudsman the action for a market disruption fee, and a trader affected by the marketing or an association of traders may bring it if the Ombudsman decides not to.

The Patent and Market Court (Patent- och marknadsdomstolen) is the competent court for actions on prohibitions, orders, market disruption fees and damages under section 46 a. The Act took effect on 1 July 2008.