At a glance
- Cancellation button mandatory since 1 July 2022
- No retention offers on the confirmation page
- Avoid fake countdowns and pre-ticked boxes
Section 4a UWG prohibits commercial practices that significantly impair the freedom of decision of consumers or other market participants through harassment, coercion or undue influence. Factors include timing, place, nature and persistence of the practice, threatening language, exploiting misfortune, and onerous obstacles when consumers want to exercise contractual rights, such as cancellation.
Always prohibited (blacklist)
- creating the impression that the consumer cannot leave without signing (no. 25)
- ignoring requests to stop home visits (no. 26)
- demanding payment for unsolicited goods (no. 29)
- claiming that the trader’s job is at risk if the consumer does not buy (no. 30)
- falsely claiming that the consumer has won a prize (no. 17)
Dark patterns
Manipulative designs are caught by Section 4a UWG, the prohibition of misleading practices and – for online platforms – Article 25 DSA. Typical examples: fake scarcity and resetting countdown timers, pre-ticked add-ons and hidden subscriptions, confirmshaming, obstructed cancellation, repeated prompts to change a decision. The planned EU Digital Fairness Act is expected to add further rules.
Cancellation button (Section 312k BGB)
Since 1 July 2022, businesses offering consumer subscriptions online must provide a clearly labelled cancellation button and a confirmation page. Case law interprets this broadly: the duty also applies to fixed-term contracts with a one-off payment that end automatically (BGH, 22 May 2025, I ZR 161/24), and the confirmation page must not contain retention offers such as “pause contract” (BGH, 16 July 2026, I ZR 200/25). Breaches entitle consumers to terminate at any time and are regularly pursued by consumer organisations.
Case examples
A streaming service shows “pause your subscription” and a discount on the confirmation page after the cancellation button. The BGH held in 2026 that this confirmation page under § 312k BGB must not contain such alternatives (16 July 2026, I ZR 200/25).
A debt collector threatens a SCHUFA entry for a claim the customer has expressly disputed. Reporting disputed claims is not permitted; the threat exerts undue pressure and is aggressive.
A shop shows “offer ends in 09:59” that restarts on every visit. Falsely stating that an offer is available only for a very limited time is on the blacklist and always prohibited.
B2B
Section 4a UWG also protects business customers, but abuse of buyer power is primarily a matter for competition (antitrust) law.
