Many website owners worldwide are obliged to disclose their identities and contact information in something called an Impressum.
The Impressum may be a largely unfamiliar concept in North America, but it’s a legal requirement for businesses that operate in German-speaking countries.
Read on to find out what an Impressum is, whether or not you need one for your website, and how to create an Impressum.
What Is an Impressum?
An Impressum is a statement identifying the ownership and authorship of published content, which is legally required in all online and print media in German-speaking countries.
For businesses with an online presence, an Impressum requires them to disclose the contact information of the website or business owner and some basic information about the company.
By requiring companies to identify themselves, Impressums help protect user data and combat copyright issues and unwanted spam marketing.
The word Impressum is adopted from German with Latin origins, meaning “to impress or to engrave,” and the closest English equivalents are:
- Legal notice
- Imprint
- Masthead
- ‘About us’ page
Do I Need an Impressum?
The German Telemedia Act requires you to have an Impressum if you operate a commercial website or social media page in Germany, whether the website has a .de domain or not.
The rules also apply to foreign companies whose websites directly target German consumers.
The laws in Austria and Switzerland contain very similar requirements, so if your company complies with the German Telemedia Act, you will also be compliant in these countries.
An Impressum is similar to a business’s privacy policy, but privacy policies are more extensive and are required by data privacy laws in more countries.
You’re not required to have an Impressum for private pages, such as a personal blog, as long as it does not generate income.
What Should I Write in an Impressum?
According to the Telemedia Act, you should include the following details in an Impressum:
- The name of the owner or manager of your business/page
- Your registered business address
- Contact information (e.g., phone number, email address)
- Business registration information (including register name and registration number)
- VAT ID number or trade registry number, if applicable
Where To Put an Impressum
Your Impressum must always be accessible to your users, so consider the following places:
- The footer of your website
- Within your privacy center or legal page
- Linked in other documents, such as your privacy policy and terms and conditions
Ensure your Impressum is clearly labeled, as the Telemedia Act mandates that the link be “easily recognizable.”
Impressum & Facebook
Facebook has a feature allowing businesses to make an Impressum on their public pages to help companies in German-speaking countries easily comply with the law.
What Is an Impressum on Facebook?
An Impressum on Facebook is a section on the “About” page that displays a business’s contact information and legal identification numbers.
Section 12 of Facebook’s Pages, Groups, and Event Policy requires page administrators to obey all applicable laws and regulations, and businesses can sell goods and services, as well as publish content, through social media platforms like Facebook.
Therefore, you must include an Impressum on your page if you’re subject to the Telemedia Act.
Facebook allows users to input up to 2,000 characters for their Impressum, after which the text is shortened, and a link to the complete Impressum is added.
Impressum Facebook Examples
The following Facebook Impressum examples vary in wording and formatting while meeting the legal requirements for an Impressum.
Audi
Let’s look at the Impressum on the car company Audi’s Facebook About page, which includes:
- The names of board members
- Contact information
- Business register name and number
- Their VAT ID
They also provide additional contact information and resources for users who want to learn more about their fuel consumption data, as shown in the screenshot below.
As long as you include all required elements in your Impressum, you can also include additional information about your business, like Audi.
For example, their Impressum features a dispute resolution disclaimer after the rest of the mandated information.
Birkenstock
Next, let’s discuss the Impressum on the Facebook About Page for the German shoe company Birkenstock.
Although they have a relatively short Impressum, it contains the required business and contact information, as shown in the screenshot below.
You can vary the length of your Impressum and the order of information as long as you include all necessary details as mandated by the Telemedia Act.
Allianz
Finally, look at the Facebook About page for the financial service provider, Allianz, which includes their business description and Impressum.
They provide information about their staff and business, along with relevant links, as shown in the screenshot below:
Consider linking your Facebook Impressum to your website’s full imprint or Impressum page for your users’ convenience.
How to Add an Impressum on Your Facebook Page
Here’s how to easily add an Impressum to your Facebook page:
- Click Pages in the left menu of your News Feed.
- Go to your Page and click Edit Page Info.
- Scroll to the More section and enter your business information in the Impressum field.
- Click Save Changes.
You should now see your Impressum and all relevant information directly on your About page.
Impressum Examples
An Impressum on a website can come in different styles for different businesses, so let’s check out some Impressum samples to help you get ideas about how to format your own.
Swarovski — Online Shop Impressum
The jewelry company Swarovski ha an Impressum on their site which they call an imprint.
It has all the required elements of an Impressum, including business and contact information for their Rhode Island office, as shown in the screenshot below.
If a user clicks on ‘Contact Us,’ it brings them to an online form they can fill out to reach a company representative.
Embedding a contact form to your Impressum is a good idea, as it makes it easier for users to reach you.
ABB Group — Website Impressum
Engineering firm ABB’s Impressum specifies that the ABB company owns its website and provides company details, including:
- The CEO’s name
- Business address
- Contact information
- Business registration information
You can read more in the screenshot below.
Follow ABB’s example by identifying who manages or owns your website.
If a third-party organization maintains your website, include their contact information.
7132 Hotels — Disclaimer Impressum
Let’s look at the Impressum for 7132 Hotels, which features liability and privacy disclaimers and the required Impressum details.
They also provide information about the third-party organization that developed their website, as shown in the screenshot below.
You might also consider including your Impressum in your website disclaimer or simply provide a link to the Impressum page if it’s too long.
Summary
Now that we’ve walked through what an Impressum is and how to create one let’s revisit what you need to know about this legally required information:
- An Impressum is a statement of ownership and authorship for online and print media.
- An Impressum helps combat spam and disinformation by holding creators responsible for their content.
- An Impressum is legally required for commercial sites operating in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
- A standard Impressum text includes the name(s) of the business/website owner, contact information, and any government-issued identification or registration numbers.
Before creating your Impressum, consult other Impressum resources or review the Telemedia Act for detailed descriptions of the requirements.
When writing your Impressum, you can draw inspiration from Impressum examples.
Finally, display your Impressum in conspicuous places on your website or Facebook page to comply with German laws.
More about the author
Written by James Ó Nuanáin, CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT
James is an Information Privacy Professional with over seven years of experience assisting large organizations comply with their obligations under the GPDR and other local privacy regulations. He is passionate about data privacy and the intersection between law and technology. More about the author
Reviewed by Masha Komnenic CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, FIP Director of Global Privacy
