Anyone offering services on the Internet must provide an imprint in accordance with § 5 of the German Telemedia Act. This also includes an e-mail address. So far, so little new. What many may be rather unaware of is that such an email must also be suitable for a user of the website to actually contact the operator.

And of course, this applies not only to the small craftsman’s business from the countryside, but also to billion-dollar companies like Google. At Google, an e-mail to the address from the imprint has so far only received an autoreply response that one should use other contact options.

The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations warned against this circumstance and received approval from the Superior Court in Berlin. Google initially refused to accept this legal opinion, but has now withdrawn its appeal to the Federal Court of Justice.

Therefore, when creating the imprint, it should always be remembered that the content includes such information “that allows a quick electronic contact and direct communication with them, including the address of the electronic mail”.