At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, German athletes and their sponsors will benefit from wider advertising options secured by the Bundeskartellamt in a previous proceeding. In addition, they will now also have more options than before when it comes to using social media. This is the result of the Bundeskartellamt’s monitoring of the advertising rules applicable to members of Team Germany and their sponsors at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt :

In an administrative proceeding initiated in 2019 against the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DOSB ) and the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) on suspicion of abuse of a dominant position, the Bundeskartellamt succeeded in relaxing the strict advertising restrictions pursuant to Rule 40 bye-law 3 of the Olympic Charter. As a result IOC and DOSB committed to relaxing the rules for German athletes ( see press release of 27 February 2019 ).

According to the updated DOSB guidelines on advertising options and restrictions during the Olympic Games, German athletes can now also record short videos with their smartphones at the Olympic sites and during the opening and closing ceremonies and use these videos in their social media accounts. However, the videos may not be used for advertising purposes. The use of the short videos, in particular the question of whether or not they are used for advertising purposes, is to be determined according to the relevant terms set out in the DOSB guidelines. In February 2019 the DOSB and the IOC acknowledged the guidelines as a binding set of rules applicable until the end of the 2026 Olympic Games. The guidelines include rules for applying the Olympic Charter’s advertising restrictions to the advertising activities of Team Germany members with their sponsors. Compared with the IOC’s rules the DOSB guidelines are much less strict, in particular with regard to the use of social media ( updated DOSB guidelines for Germany ).

Moreover, within the monitoring process for the upcoming Games, illustrated examples explaining the options for and limits to advertising activities, especially those on social media, were released ( Illustrated examples on the DOSB website ).

Since the conclusion of the administrative proceeding the implementation of the DOSB guidelines has been monitored by the Bundeskartellamt . The DOSB and the IOC update the guidelines for the relevant Olympic Games in consultation with the Bundeskartellamt . This also applies to adjustments that have become necessary due to the Olympic Charter’s newly defined advertising rules.

Bundeskartellamt Eases Advertising Restrictions for Team Germany Athletes at Olympics 2024

The Bundeskartellamt intervened in 2019 to relax strict advertising restrictions under Rule 40 bye-law 3 of the Olympic Charter for German athletes participating in the Olympics. This intervention led to the DOSB updating its guidelines to allow athletes to create and share short videos on social media during the Games, albeit not for advertising purposes. The DOSB guidelines, less strict than the IOC's rules, are binding until the end of the 2026 Olympics. The Bundeskartellamt continues to monitor the implementation of these guidelines, ensuring compliance with the newly defined advertising rules of the Olympic Charter.

Bundeskartellamt Eases Advertising Restrictions for Team Germany Athletes at Olympics 2024

The Bundeskartellamt has successfully secured wider advertising options and social media usage for German athletes and their sponsors at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, following an administrative proceeding against the DOSB and IOC.