Effective May 28, 2022, some amendments of the German Act on Unfair Competition (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb, UWG) entered into force. The background is the directive 2019/2161/EU which aims at a better consumer protection. The most relevant change is that, from now on, consumer themselves may claim damages for certain vialetions of that Act (hitherto, only competitors and certain associations could enforce claims under that Act). Further amendments relate to:

Ranking: Businesses which offer, in the B2C sector, search functions for goods or services from various origins have to disclose details as to how the ranking of the search results is determined.

Product reviews: Traders holding consumer reviews of goods or services available have to inform how they prevent fake reviews.

Dual quality marketing: Goods marketed in various EU member states as being identical generally must not differ significantly from country to country (e.g. chocolate with varying cocoa content).

Further, the national Regulation on Price Indications (Preisangabenverordnung, PAngV; applicable to the B2C sector) has been amended effective May 28, 2022. The most prominent amendments consist of its editorial re-structuring. The substantive by far most relevant amendment is the obligation to indicate, in the course of price reductions, the lowest price which has been applicable during the past 30 days.