Berlin court rules online businesses must provide functional contact emails

The Kammergericht Berlin has ruled that commercial online service providers must provide an email address in their website's imprint (Impressum) that is actually suitable for contact. The court determined that companies cannot use an email address that merely triggers an automated response stating it does not accept incoming messages.

The ruling follows a lawsuit brought by the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband against a large online retailer. The retailer had instructed customers to log into their accounts for communication rather than using the provided email address. Under the Digital Services Act, the court found that providers must ensure an email address allows for rapid, immediate, and efficient communication, even if other contact methods are available.