Swedish consumer agency calls for total ban on telemarketing

September 2 2025

The Swedish regulator Konsumentverket proposes to completely ban telephone sales. This recommendation follows the Swedish government's inquiry into the possibilities for improving consumer protection in telephone sales.

The agency has the report The report was given the title 'Telephone sales – an unwanted, inappropriate and highly problematic business method'. The report points out the high level of consumer dissatisfaction. To avoid telemarketers, six out of ten people do not answer calls from unknown numbers. The number of reports to the Swedish regulator regarding misleading and aggressive marketing is significantly higher for telephone sales than for other business methods. In telephone sales, it is also much more common for parties to disagree on whether a purchase actually took place.

An alternative solution to the full covenant is, according to the regulator, to replace the current Nix register with an opt-in system.

Criticism from the sector

The Swedish telemarketing sector is not happy with either recommendation. A ban would primarily exclude serious players, while those who are already misbehaving will simply continue. The Swedish telemarketing sector disagrees with the accusation of misleading and pushy sales tactics. trade association Kontakta delivered a sneer at the practices of the Social Democratic Party, which allowed the use of questionable telemarketing methods to fill the coffers.

CEO Annette Tannerfeldt from Swedma, the Swedish equivalent of the DDMA, describes the advice as “incomplete and hasty” and believes that the consequences could be far-reaching.

Opponents of a ban question the research underlying the report. They argue that too much focus is placed on consumers and not enough on businesses, that a ban would have a significant negative impact on charities and newspaper publishers, and that thousands of jobs would be lost.

Other parties emphasize that the use of telemarketing is already on its last legs and that there are plenty of other ways to reach consumers. The discussion about the The future of telemarketing has been developing in Sweden for some time now. (zip tone)