Hi there,
I am new to upwork and I am German. In Germany, we have a law called "Telemediengesetz", which requires any business to provide their full contact information wherever they offer their services online (I linked the law and pasted some excerpts below). The law is very strict as to how and what information needs to be provided and that it has to be "directly accessible and constantly available" (= messaging contact info back and forth is not sufficient). In case law, that usually means that "if you do not provide a link to your imprint within two clicks, you can be fined up to 50.000 Euro". In case law, it is even specified that the link cannot be called just "info" but it has to say "imprint" or "contact information" or something similar.
This German law applies to any platform where a business offers their services. So for example, if a German company has a profile on Facebook, they need to link to their imprint with their full contact information on their Facebook profile. The link needs to have up-to-date information and be available at all times.
I assume this law also applies to platforms like upwork, yet upwork prohibits to provide contact info in a freelancer profile. I asked support for help, but I got answers on tax questions that do not refer to Telemediengesetz. This is not about taxes, it is about legally being required to provide contact information when offering services online as a German.
Can anyone tell me how I can legally work on upwork as a German freelancer without risking high fines? Does anyone know of any incidents with "Abmahnanwälte" related to upwork and imprints or can someone tell me what I can do to be on the safe side here?
Feel free to answer in German if you are German too 🙂
Thanks,
Hanna
The concerning paragraphs of the law (google-translated into English for better understanding):
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tmg/__1.html
Telemedia Act (TMG)
§ 1 Scope
(1) This Act applies to all electronic information and communication services,
(...)
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/tmg/__5.html
Telemedia Act (TMG)
§ 5 General information requirements
(1) Service providers must keep the following information easily recognizable, directly accessible and constantly available for business-like telemedia, which are usually offered for a fee:
1.
the name and address at which they are established; in the case of legal entities, the legal form, the authorized representatives and, if information is provided about the company's capital, the share capital and, if not all of the contributions to be made in cash have been paid in , the total amount of outstanding deposits,
2.
Information that enables quick electronic contact and direct communication with you, including the address of the electronic mail,
(...)
Here is a article which explains further , what the law means by that and how :
https://www.srd-rechtsanwaelte.de/blog/die-impressumspflicht-2-klicks-oder-viele-probleme/
Immediately accessible: The "immediacy" of accessibility depends above all on the fact that the imprint information can be reached without any significant intermediate steps. It is no longer necessary for them to be visible at the end of every page of a website. Rather, it is sufficient to list all information on just one page, provided that it can be accessed from all other pages via a link. In the case law, the principle has been established that the imprint must be reached with no more than two clicks. However, this only applies if the information in the imprint is complete and correct and a complete and correct imprint is not created by further clicks.
Always available: The information is always available if the user can access it at any time. This also assumes that the data can be archived, i.e. above all copied and printed out. A temporary disruption of the accessibility is harmless. The information must be provided free of charge. In the case of a paid offer, the information must be available free of charge before logging in so that the user has information about the contractual partner in advance.
