Cold calling: prior consumer consent has been required in France since 11 August
CNIL, 19 October 2026: the replay of the CNIL-DGCCRF webinar recalls the new regime; soliciting a consumer by phone without their consent is now prohibited.
- On 19 October 2026, the CNIL put online the replay of a webinar with the DGCCRF on the new telephone prospecting regime.
- Since 11 August 2026, soliciting a consumer by phone without their consent has been prohibited in France.
- Before using a voice assistant, an agency must check consent; the page covers neither business-to-business prospecting nor AI.
On 19 October 2026, the CNIL put online the replay of a webinar held with the DGCCRF on 24 September about the new regime for telephone prospecting. According to the page, the new rules have applied since 11 August 2026: "It is now prohibited to solicit a consumer by telephone unless you have their consent".
Consent is not the only requirement: the CNIL also recalls the duties to inform, the permitted calling hours and the validity period of consent. It cites article L. 223-1 of the Consumer Code, decree no. 2026-662 of 23 July 2026 (collecting, keeping and withdrawing consent) and articles 6, 7 and 21 of the GDPR. A few other exceptions exist, which the page does not detail.
For AppH
- If an agency is considering a voice assistant to chase payments or win clients, the first question is not technical: has the person agreed to be called?
- AppH prepares the work (list of contacts, message, follow-up) and leaves the decision to call or write to a person at the agency, which makes it possible to check consent before any contact.
Against / the honest limit
- The page is about soliciting consumers. It covers neither prospecting between businesses nor artificial intelligence: it does not say how these rules apply to a voice assistant, or to an agency that mostly serves companies.
- Calling hours, the validity period of consent and the exceptions are not detailed on the page: check the decree, the DGCCRF or your adviser before launching a campaign. AppH gives no legal advice.
A tool that calls faster is only useful if you know who may be called. Start with the list of consents, and only then with the tool.
Reviewed by an AppH human