Is B2B Cold Email Legal in 2026? US, UK, EU & Canada

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1. Compliance·10 min read “The answer depends on the country, recipient type, data source, and message.” TL;DR

   In Consent for B2B marketing

2. European Union and EEA: GDPR plus national ePrivacy law “The ePrivacy Directive's Article 13 regulates unsolicited electronic-mail marketing and is implemented through national law.” Run both tests. A GDPR lawful basis does not override a national ePrivacy consent rule. The European Commission's lawful-basis guidance says legitimate interest requires necessity and a balance against the individual's rights.

   In National ePrivacy implementation

3. The practical compliance checklist “Accurate sender identity on every send, no spoofed names.” Subject lines that match the body. This also helps deliverability, which we cover in the deliverability guide.

   In Sender identity setup

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