Inteligo Case: Direct Marketing, Free Accounts, EPrivacy And The GDPR

Inteligo Case

The Court of Justice of the European Union's (the "CJEU") recent judgment in Inteligo Media SA v. ANSPDCP (C-654/23), delivered on 13 November 2025, marks a crucial point in European data protection law. After years of ambiguity, the decision provides a degree of clarity on the interplay between the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, while simultaneously establishing that freemium business models fall squarely within the scope of legitimate direct marketing practices.

Background

Inteligo Media SA ("Inteligo"), the Romanian publisher of legal news platform 'avocatnet.ro', implemented a freemium¹ model that allowed users to access six articles monthly without registration. To navigate and read additional content, users had the ability to create free accounts on the platform by providing email addresses and accepting contractual terms. This registration granted access to two additional free articles monthly and a daily newsletter titled "Personal