Hamburg Regional Court prohibits misleading practices by Fanblast – Success for BestFans GmbH
10.06.2025 | Hamburg, Germany – BestFans GmbH has achieved a significant legal victory at the Hamburg Regional Court (case no. 416 HKO 62/25) against Digital Blast GmbH, the operator of the “Fanblast” platform. In a speedy trial, the court prohibited a number of commercial practices that mislead consumers and violate fair competition rules.
It also ruled that an administrative fine of up to €250,000 or, alternatively, imprisonment could be imposed in the event of a breach of the court ban.
Both BestFans and Fanblast operate platforms on which content creators can offer paid services and engage in dialogue with their fans. The profiles are usually advertised via social media channels such as Instagram or TikTok.
While BestFans expressly ensures that messages are written exclusively by the creators themselves – including through corresponding clauses in the creator T&Cs and technical measures – Fanblast offered the content creators the opportunity to work with partner agencies. These agencies then took over the communication on behalf of the creators and tried to imitate their writing style and expression as realistically as possible in order to give fans the impression that they were communicating directly with the creator. During these chats, fans can then be offered paid, supposedly personalised content.
In the opinion of BestFans GmbH, it is particularly misleading that Fanblast offered the creator’s own WhatsApp number for a fee and advertised it as such. However, customers actually received a number generated by Fanblast that was technically connected to the Fanblast software. The messages received could then be answered by agency employees – without the consumer being aware that they were not communicating with the creator itself.
Bestfans GmbH was able to credibly demonstrate this behaviour by Fanblast in court, with the result that the Hamburg Regional Court has now prohibited the practices. BestFans is also considering further legal steps, including the involvement of the criminal prosecution authorities.
‘This decision is an important step towards fair competition and the protection of consumers in the digital space,’ explains Dennis Dahlmann, Managing Director of BestFans GmbH. ‘We welcome the court’s clear stance against non-transparent and potentially deceptive practices in the creator economy.’
The Hamburg Regional Court issued the requested injunction within two days without even scheduling an oral hearing. Fanblast had previously missed the opportunity to respond to BestFans GmbH’s warning letter. The decision is still legally binding.
To the order: https://www.bestfans.com/20250528.pdf
