Italy, the Netherlands and the Nordics: where B2B e-mail needs consent

The ePrivacy Directive lets each EU country decide how to protect companies from unsolicited e-mail. Several chose to protect them exactly as they protect consumers: with a consent requirement. For a manufacturer that means the standard "introduction e-mail to a distributor" is off the table in Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark, while Sweden takes a different line.

Putting it simply: in Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark you need the recipient's prior consent before sending a marketing e-mail, even to a company address. In Sweden you may e-mail a legal person without consent, but every message must carry a valid opt-out address and natural persons, sole traders included, need consent. Finland and Norway are not covered here; check before sending.

Italy: Article 130 of the Privacy Code

Article 130 of the Codice in materia di protezione dei dati personali (Legislative Decree 196/2003, as amended in 2018) permits automated promotional communications, which expressly include e-mail, only with the consent of the "contraente o utente", the subscriber or user. The Garante's 2013 guidelines on promotional activity and spam confirm that marketing by these means "è consentito solo con il consenso preventivo del contraente", and apply the rule to company mailboxes as well as to individuals.

Three points from the guidelines matter:

• Addresses found on websites or in public registers do not carry implied consent: it is not possible to send promotional communications "neanche nel caso in cui i dati personali siano tratti da registri pubblici".
• A named company mailbox (nome.cognome@società.it) is treated as a personal address of the employee, so the full personal-data rules apply.
• For generic mailboxes such as info@, the consent needed is the company's own: the guidelines note that the "contraente" whose consent Article 130 requires "riguarda certamente anche le persone giuridiche".

The only exception is the "soft spam" rule in Article 130(4) for existing customers of your own similar products; it does not apply to a distributor you have never sold to.

The Garante enforces actively: its 2016 decision on unwanted promotional e-mail stressed that consent must be freely given and documented. The 2013 guidelines noted that legal persons could no longer lodge complaints with the Garante; since the 2018 amendments a formal complaint (reclamo, art. 141) is for data subjects, but anyone, a company included, can send the Garante a report (segnalazione, art. 144), and the Garante can act on its own initiative.

What works instead: trade fairs, commission agents (agenti di commercio) who already visit the trade, introductions through sector associations, and a letter. As of October 2026 we could not confirm an official Garante position on cold messages via business networks; treat them like e-mail.

The Netherlands: Article 11.7 Telecommunicatiewet

Article 11.7(1) of the Telecommunicatiewet prohibits the use of electronic messages for unsolicited commercial, charitable or idealistic communication unless the sender can demonstrate that the end-user gave prior consent. The regulator, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), puts it directly: "U mag elektronische berichten sturen naar ontvangers die vooraf toestemming gaven."

The rule has applied to companies since 1 October 2009. In its 2012 decision fining Companeo for e-mail spam, the regulator (then OPTA, now part of ACM) stated that since that date the legislator no longer distinguishes between legal persons and natural persons as subscribers.

The statute does contain a narrow exception for business recipients: no prior consent is required for a message to a legal person or a professional where the sender uses electronic contact details that the recipient has designated and published specifically for receiving unsolicited commercial communication. A general info@ address published for customer enquiries is not designated for that purpose. As of October 2026 we could not find ACM guidance describing how this exception is applied in practice; unless a company's own website says it accepts supplier offers at a given address, assume the exception is not available.

ACM also requires every message to identify the sender and offer an easy, free opt-out, and permits messages to existing customers about related products. Its spam decisions are public; in the Companeo decision, for example, the regulator imposed a fine of €100,000 for unsolicited e-mails sent to business addresses.

What works instead: a letter, trade fairs, partner introductions and a strong English-language inbound presence; Dutch buyers work comfortably in English. ACM states that consumers and small entrepreneurs (zzp'ers, vof's) may only be called with prior consent; as far as we could establish, a call to a company switchboard is outside that rule, but check ACM's current telemarketing rules first.

Sweden: consent for people, opt-out for companies

The Swedish Marketing Act (Marknadsföringslag 2008:486) draws the line at natural persons. Section 19 provides that a trader may use e-mail for marketing to "en fysisk person" only if that person consented in advance. Section 20 then requires that a marketing e-mail "alltid" contains a valid address to which the recipient can send a request that the marketing cease, and adds: "Detta gäller även vid marknadsföring till en juridisk person." The opt-out duty applies to companies; the consent duty does not.

So a message to a Swedish company's published address is permitted if it identifies you and carries a working opt-out. A sole trader (enskild näringsidkare) is a natural person: the bill behind section 19 says natural persons who are traders are protected, so get consent first (prop. 2003/04:43). Whether a named employee's mailbox counts as marketing to the company or to the person is not settled in official guidance we could find as of October 2026; use role or generic addresses, or obtain consent, for named individuals. The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) supervises the Act.

Denmark: consent from anyone, including businesses

Section 10(1) of the Danish Marketing Act (markedsføringsloven) reads: "En erhvervsdrivende må ikke rette henvendelse til nogen ved brug af elektronisk post ... med henblik på direkte markedsføring, medmindre den pågældende har givet sit forudgående samtykke hertil." The word "nogen" (anyone) is the point. The Consumer Ombudsman (Forbrugerombudsmanden) states that the prohibition applies to all recipients, whether the message goes to a consumer, a company or a public authority.

Two further points from the Ombudsman's guidance: consent must be obtained before any e-mail is sent, so a request for consent by e-mail is itself a breach; and the existing-customer exception has three conditions (clear information at purchase that the address may be used, similar products only, easy opt-out in each message). Breaches are fined and the cases published.

What works instead: letters, trade fairs and personal introductions; for calls, check the Ombudsman's rules on unsolicited approaches first.

Where this leaves a manufacturer

These markets are closed to one channel, not to you: the distributors are still findable and the evidence of who sells your category is public. Cresques marks Italy, the Netherlands and Denmark as markets where the first contact is not an e-mail; the first message Cresques drafts for these markets, in the company's language with an English version, is written for a permitted channel such as a letter, a contact form or LinkedIn.

What this means for a manufacturer

• Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark: no cold e-mail, and no "may we e-mail you?" e-mail either. Use a letter, a fair, an agent or a partner introduction.
• Sweden: e-mail to a company's published address is permitted with identity and a working opt-out; consent for named individuals and sole traders.
• In every one of these countries the existing-customer exception starts only after a first sale and only if you set up the opt-out notice at that point.
• Keep the evidence of how each contact was made; in the Netherlands the law places the burden of proving consent on the sender.
• Finland and Norway are not covered here; verify their rules before sending anything.