The Federal Network Agency ('Bundesnetzagentur') announced, on 14 January 2022, that in 2021, the number of written complaints about unauthorised advertising calls received by the Bundesnetzagentur had increased again significantly, after already reaching a peak in the previous year. In particular, the Bundesnetzagentur highlighted that it had received a total of 79,702 written complaints in 2021, while in 2020 it had received a total of 63,273 written complaints, meaning that that there was an increase of 26% compared to the previous year. In addition, the Bundesnetzagentur stated that during its investigations, it had discovered a significant increase in the number of advertising calls, where the callers either did not give the recipients any telephone number at all or abusively used a false telephone number, which often changed daily. However, the Bundesnetzagentur highlighted that in the future, offenders in these cases will face significantly higher fines, as the legislature increased the fine for number suppression in advertising calls from €10,000 to €300,000.

Furthermore, the Bundesnetzagentur noted that it had further intensified its prosecution activities against companies acting unfairly, that it had initiated investigations against numerous companies, and concluded a total of 14 major proceedings with the imposition of a fine. Lastly, the Bundesnetzagentur stated that in 2021 fines totalling €1,435,000 were imposed for unauthorised telephone advertising and number suppression for advertising calls, and that this also represents another increase compared to recent years.

You can read the press release, only available in German, here.