Attention regarding promises in return for retweets or the like

The situation

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I have often written that, as a lawyer specialising in IT law and, in particular, as a lawyer who has a lot to do with streamers, influencers and esportsmen, you often feel like you’re a little bit in the legal wild west.

Key Facts

Influencers could face legal problems if they make profit promises public.
Content distributed on Twitter such as "With 10,000 retweets, everyone gets 100 euros" is risky.
§ Section 661a BGB states that promises of winnings must be kept if consumers expect them.
§ Section 657 BGB obliges the payment of rewards for public acts.
Legal consequences apply not only to money, but also to hardware and other gifts.
Streamers should carefully check their promises on social media.
The German justice system could become very expensive for less thoughtful tweets and posts.

Today I would like to draw attention to something that influencers and other providers can fall on their feet quite badly. Time and again, for example, on Twitter, you experience tweets in the style of

“Please retweet. At 10,000 retweets, everyone gets 100 euros”

or something like that.

Such or similar tweets or similar content on other networks are available in various forms and designs.

However, anyone who publishes such content should be aware that this can have legal consequences in Germany.

The legal problem

Depending on the design, the rule of Section 661a of the German Civil Code (BGB) could:

A trader who sends profit pledges or similar communications to consumers and who, by designing such mailings, gives the impression that the consumer has won a price must pay the consumer that price.

or from Section 657 of the German Civil Code(s):

Any person who, by means of a public notice, suspends a reward for carrying out an act, in particular for achieving success, is obliged to pay the reward to the person who carried out the act, even if the latter is not consideration for the award.

very expensive for the streamer/influencer.

If you consider yourself within the “reach” of the German judiciary, you should take a close look at what you say for promises or promises on Twitter, Facebook or video platforms. Of course, this applies not only to promises of money, but also to “praise” hardware or other things!

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.