Page 2 - Recht im Online-Handel

A missing, hidden, or outdated legal notice is one of the most common reasons for a formal warning letter in German online retail, and it affects small side-business shops just as much as established companies. This article explains in plain language which details a legal notice must contain, what changed with the new Digital Services Act, and how to reliably avoid common warning letter traps.

Any online shop that sells electrical devices, electronic accessories with a built-in battery, or loose batteries in Germany falls under the German Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act, known as ElektroG, and often additionally under the German Battery Act, known as BattG. Both laws require registration before the first sale and set out under which conditions customers may return old devices or used batteries free of charge. This article explains in plain language what these duties actually mean, who is affected and which steps make sense right now.

If you sell through Amazon or eBay in addition to your own online shop, sooner or later you will run into a rule that sounds very technical at first glance but is quite simple in practice: the marketplace needs proof that you are correctly registered for tax purposes. Without this proof, your account can be blocked, with no wrongdoing on your part at all. We explain what this is about and what you can calmly take care of.

Since 28 June 2025, many online shops in Germany have been legally required to be accessible under the Barrierefreiheitsstaerkungsgesetz (BFSG), Germany's implementation of the European Accessibility Act. We explain in plain language what this means for your shop, who is really affected, and how to avoid fines and unnecessary trouble.

If you use a chatbot or an AI shopping assistant in your online shop, you are dealing with a new European rule that sounds very abstract at first glance but, in practice, asks a very concrete question: does your customer know they are talking to an artificial intelligence rather than a human being? The EU AI Act requires exactly that, clearly and unambiguously. We explain what this is about, when it starts to matter, and what you can calmly take care of.