<!-- headlesslaw {"release":{"id":"a4f2a0495fe55b47323883f82977a9b34ab66171ec9623e39925d3a7045b6c81","published":"2026-11-01T16:41:30Z","pinned":false},"limits":{"coverage":{"history":"from:2009-12-19","held_since":"2009-12-19","gaps":[],"covered":["ePrivacy L1"],"not_covered":["national guidance","court decisions"]},"freshness":{"release_id":"a4f2a0495fe55b47323883f82977a9b34ab66171ec9623e39925d3a7045b6c81","release_published":"2026-11-01T16:41:30Z","checked_at":"2026-11-01","checked_against":"EUR-Lex"},"truncation":null,"failures":[],"incomplete":[]},"page":{"path":"/eprivacy/recitals/42","url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals/42","title":"Recital 42","family":"l1_recital_view","work_id":"eprivacy","view_of":"/eprivacy/recitals","status":"in_force","force_status":"in_force","date_state":"current","requested_date":null,"as_of":"2026-11-02","applies_from":null,"application":null,"version_label":"Directive 2002/58/EC, OJ L 201, 31.7.2002","check":{"against":"EUR-Lex","on":"2026-11-01"},"check_result":"matched","official_url":"https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32002L0058","valid_from":"2009-12-19","valid_until":null,"content_id":"2da2d1a1ef154668","versions":["2009-12-19"],"version_url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals/42/versions/2009-12-19","revision_url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals/42/versions/2009-12-19/rev/2da2d1a1ef154668","versions_url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals/42/versions","relations_url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals/42/relations","act_url":"https://www.headlesslaw.com/eprivacy/recitals","source_line":null,"attribution":null,"context":{"act":{"work_id":"eprivacy","path":"/eprivacy/recitals","name":"ePrivacy","number":"Directive 2002/58/EC","celex":"32002L0058","title_official":null,"document_date":null},"position":{"kind":"recital","key":"42","index":42,"articles":49,"annexes":0},"prev":{"path":"/eprivacy/recitals/41","key":"41","title":"Recital 41"},"next":{"path":"/eprivacy/recitals/43","key":"43","title":"Recital 43"},"act_anchor":""}}} -->
# Recital 42

*In force · Directive 2002/58/EC, OJ L 201, 31.7.2002 · Checked against EUR-Lex on 1 Nov 2026 · [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32002L0058)*

Other forms of direct marketing that are more costly for the sender and impose no financial costs on subscribers and users, such as person-to-person voice telephony calls, may justify the maintenance of a system giving subscribers or users the possibility to indicate that they do not want to receive such calls. Nevertheless, in order not to decrease existing levels of privacy protection, Member States should be entitled to uphold national systems, only allowing such calls to subscribers and users who have given their prior consent.
