The law on telephone solicitation partially censored by the Constitutional Council

The Constitutional Council has declared several provisions of the 2020 law regulating telephone solicitation and commercial prospecting unconstitutional. The issue at hand is the possibility for multiple administrative authorities to penalize the same actions, a situation deemed contrary to the principle prohibiting double jeopardy.

The double penalties in question

Seized by the operator Orange in a dispute before the Council of State, the Constitutional Council examined the law that prohibits, among other things, telephone solicitation for energy renovation work and requires professionals to respect the Bloctel opt-out list. The text allowed three separate authorities (the CNIL, the ARCEP, and the administration responsible for competition and consumer affairs) to impose sanctions for the same offenses. The Constitutional Council considered that this mechanism could lead to double, or even triple, penalties for identical acts.

The repeal has been postponed until 2027.

The provisions in question have been repealed, but their effects are postponed until October 31, 2027, so as not to interrupt proceedings already underway. Until then, an authority will no longer be able to prosecute an offender if that offender is already subject to proceedings or a sanction imposed by another competent authority. Furthermore, a new law adopted in 2025 is scheduled to come into force at the beginning of August. It will establish the principle of prior consumer consent, requiring companies to obtain consumers' agreement before any telephone solicitation.