internet germany
Can I use a pseudonym in the Impressum of a non-commercial website?
<p>I am creating an online forum where users can communicate and exchange ideas with no public content. This means that the website does not have any commercial activities, and it does not engage in any form of advertising, selling or promoting products or services.</p>
<p>I would like to know if it is allowed to use a pseudonym in the Impressum instead of my real name. I understand that the Impressum is a legal requirement for websites and it's used to ensure transparency and make it easy for customers to contact the website owner, but I would like to maintain a level of privacy.</p>
<p>In my country, the general usage of pseudonyms is allowed (<a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudonym#Deutschland" rel="noreferrer">even the use of a pseudonym in a signature is legally binding and permissible as long as the person in question can be identified without doubt.</a>) However, I am unsure if this applies to the Impressum of a website.</p>
<p>The website could be hosted outside of Germany (for example UK) if this changes the legal requirements. I'm planning to use AWS for hosting. The best case would be a solution where I just have to put my mail address in the Impressum.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any guidance or advice on this matter. Thank you in advance for your help.</p>

<p>You won't be able to get around self-doxxing yourself.</p>
<p>§ 5 Abs 1 TMG requires tele-media service providers like you to list</p>
<blockquote>
<p>den Namen und die Anschrift, unter der sie niedergelassen sind</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>the name and the address where they reside or are established</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly, Art 13(1) GDPR requires you to provide</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the identity and the contact details of the controller</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a German context, it is generally accepted that both of these involve a <em>ladungsfähige Anschrift</em>, i.e. a street address where you could be served with a lawsuit (not a post box).</p>
<p>These requirements exist for both natural persons and legal entities, and for both businesses and non-commercial activities. The TMG <em>Impressumspflicht</em> talks about “geschäftsmäßige, in der Regel gegen Entgelt angebotene Telemedien” but in practice this only requires that the service <em>could</em> be paid (not that you're actually making any money), and that the service is offered routinely/business-like (not necessarily commercially).</p>
<p>It does not matter where your service is hosted as long as you live in Germany.</p>
<p>The TMG and GDPR might not apply if the forum is run purely privately, e.g. if it is only made available to a few close friends or family members.</p>
