Four rules that shape outbound into Europe
GDPR
Article 6(1)(f) allows processing on legitimate interest, and Recital 47 says direct marketing may count as one, after weighing the person's reasonable expectations. You need to be able to say why you chose each person.
ePrivacy
Article 13 requires consent for marketing email to individuals, and leaves each member state to decide how to protect companies. That is why B2B email rules differ country by country.
EU AI Act
Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026. Providers of AI systems that interact directly with people must make sure those people know it is an AI, unless it is obvious. The European Commission confirms the transparency rules apply from August 2026.
Tracking pixels
France's CNIL published a recommendation in April 2026 and Italy's Garante published guidelines the same month, both treating most email tracking pixels as tracking that needs consent.
B2B email, country by country
A summary of what each country's own text or regulator says, to help you ask your counsel the right question.
| Country | What the rule says about B2B email |
|---|---|
| France | CNIL accepts B2B prospecting on legitimate interest when the message relates to the person's job, they are told where their data came from, and they can object easily. |
| United Kingdom | The PECR email rule does not apply to corporate subscribers. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals, and UK GDPR still applies to named people. |
| Netherlands | No prior consent is needed for companies or professionals only where they published the address for receiving such messages. |
| Germany | UWG §7(2) treats email advertising without prior express consent as unreasonable harassment, with no general B2B exception. |
| Spain | LSSI Article 21 requires promotional email to be requested or expressly authorised, except for existing customers and similar products. |
| Italy | The Garante's 2013 guidelines require prior consent for promotional email, even when the address is public. |
If you sell into Germany, Spain or Italy, the safest route is usually a conversation that starts somewhere other than a cold email: a LinkedIn engagement, an event, a referral, or someone who visited your site and asked to hear from you.
What the product does
- Discloses the AI. Any message the rep writes and sends with no person approving it ends with one line saying it was written by your company's AI sales assistant and that a person reads every reply. Drafts you approve are your own messages. The line is on by default.
- Sends no pixel to France or Italy. For any contact the rep can place in either country, email goes out as plain text with no HTML part, so there is no pixel and no rewritten link.
- Records why each person was chosen. Every contact carries the source that found them and the reason they matched your audience, so the question of lawful basis has a record behind it.
- Lets you leave countries out. Your audience lists the countries you target. A country your counsel advises against is simply not in it.
- Honours opt-outs at once. One-click unsubscribe on every email, and an unsubscribe or STOP marks the person do-not-contact on every channel, permanently.
LinkedIn in Europe's largest markets
DataReportal counted 38.0 million LinkedIn members in France, 25.0 million in Italy, 24.0 million in Germany and 24.0 million in Spain at the end of 2025, registered members rather than active users. Where email needs consent, LinkedIn engagement signals, such as people who reacted to your posts or a competitor's, are often the better place to start the conversation.
Languages
Growth writes in English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. Scale adds Italian and Dutch. Pro covers any language.
Related reading
Questions people ask
Is cold B2B email legal in the EU?
It depends on the country. GDPR allows direct marketing on legitimate interest after a balancing test, but the ePrivacy Directive leaves B2B email rules to each member state. France allows B2B prospecting that relates to the person's job with a way to object, while Germany, Spain and Italy require prior consent in their texts. Take advice for the countries you target; this is not legal advice.
What does the EU AI Act require of an AI SDR?
Article 50 applies from 2 August 2026 and requires providers of AI systems that interact directly with people to make sure those people know they are dealing with an AI, unless that is obvious. BOSRAI adds a disclosure line to every message the rep sends without a person approving it.
Why does BOSRAI send no tracking pixel to France and Italy?
The French regulator CNIL published a recommendation in April 2026 and the Italian regulator Garante published guidelines the same month, both treating most email tracking pixels as requiring consent. BOSRAI sends plain text with no pixel to contacts it can place in either country.
Can I exclude countries from my outreach?
Yes. Your audience lists the countries you target, so a country your counsel advises against is simply left out, and a contact marked do-not-contact stays marked whatever a later hunt finds.
Does it work for the UK?
Yes. The UK's email marketing rule under PECR does not apply to corporate subscribers, though sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals and UK GDPR still applies to named people.
Try it on your own list
Free plan, 250 verified contacts a month, and every message waits for your approval until you say otherwise. Start free →
Sources, read 14 September 2026: GDPR, Article 6 and Recital 47, ePrivacy Directive, Article 13, UWG §7 (Germany), CNIL on email prospecting, ICO on B2B marketing, Telecommunicatiewet (Netherlands), LSSI (Spain), Garante 2013 spam guidelines, EU AI Act, European Commission on the AI Act timeline, CNIL recommendation on tracking pixels, Garante guidelines on tracking pixels, DataReportal Digital 2026. Nothing on this page is legal advice.