We often get asked the question, âwhat is an Impressum?â, thatâs why weâd like to answer the most common questions here:
An Impressum is essentially a statement of ownership and authorship. It was put into place to in an effort to protect user data, combat illegal content and spam by making website owners identify themselves, and as a result assume responsibility for the content on their platform.
Often when talking about an Impressum, people mean the German (DACH) version of compulsory information placed on a website.
The Impressum is legally required on all commercial websites (including Facebook business pages) published in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), whether the website is published via a .de top-level domain or not.
The point can be made that if you simply have a personal blog without ads and make no money from it, then the Impressum is not required.
Another document thatâs often mandatory for commercial sites is Terms and Conditions. Read more about Terms and when theyâre needed here.
Often we are asked why we donât add certain information necessary for the Impressum within our privacy policy. These are our answers:
Please remember that whether you choose to include an Impressum in the âWebsite ownerâ field or not, the âWebsite ownerâ field must include valid identifiying information.
With that said, letâs take a look at two of the most popular questions regarding using an impressum on your site or page.
Generally, an Impressum should contain the following information:
Note: In the case of Germany, the Impressum is regulated inside Art. 5 DDG.
An Impressum should be:
đ If you choose to include the Impressum information within the owner section of the privacy, you must properly link to it as âImpressumâ otherwise the placement may fail to meet the âeasily recognizableâ and âimmediately accessibleâ requirements. It is for this reason, again, that we believe the impressum should go on its own separate page.
Facebook offers a way for users to add an Impressum for user-created public pages. Even though there is no uniform way Facebook page owners can use the Impressum section, they generally provide these kinds of basic information:
To add an Impressum to your Facebook Page:
Your visitors will be able to see this information when they click the âAboutâ link below your Facebook Pageâs profile (see examples below).
Unlike the Impressum, which in general is not a requirement for Facebook Pages, if you run your business on Facebook (even without a website), you need to have a privacy policy available for your customers to read. For more information:
www.iubenda.de ist ein Angebot der
Iubenda GmbH
Iubendastr. 5
10178 Berlin
E-Mail: kundenservice@iubenda.de
Tel.: 030 1234567890
FAX: 030 1234567890
Geschaftsfuhrer: Iubenda Iubenda
Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg, HRB 123456789 B
USt-ID-Nr: DE1234567890
Tandemâs Impressum page is a good example of longer, but well segmented information. At the time of publishing this post it looks like this:
Here is Audiâs Impressum on their Facebook page:
Hereâs another Facebook Impressum example, Siemensâ about page:
Having an Impressum is not the only legal requirement you need to comply with. Make sure to check out the short guide below: