The contract between SWB and Ströer governs which advertisements may be shown in public places and at bus stops. The contract states: "Advertising may not violate the law or morality or denigrate the constitutional order of the Federal Republic of Germany". In particular, offensive, discriminatory and violence-glorifying advertising is not permitted. But also those that damage the reputation of the city of Bonn or the municipal utilities. "These requirements have been in place for many years and also apply to our buses and trains," explains SWB spokesman Werner Schui.

The concessionaire decides what flickers on the billboards - and so does Ströer. There are no municipal control bodies that look at advertising for the criteria mentioned before it is published. "If there are violations, the concessionaire is obliged to remove the advertising," Schui said. This would not result in any financial disadvantages for the municipal utilities.

According to Ströer, he has a youth protection officer who checks the advertising in advance. In this case, according to Ströer, the motif was "controversial", which is why it was only shown after 9 pm. After the complaints, it was decided not to broadcast the advertising video any more.

While it is possible to quickly remove the advertising from the displays, this is not so easy with the billboards. "Here one must clarify with a reference as to whether it is a private objection or our own.“ In principle, private individuals could accept any advertising as long as they did not violate the guidelines of the Advertising Council. Since January 2017 Ströer owns the exclusive advertising rights to Bonn streets, squares and bus stops. The term is 15 years. The contractual partners are the municipal utilities. The concession fee to the city and SWB amounts to around 1.2 million euros per year. However, Ströer has reduced the payments because the city has not approved locations.

(Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach, Translation: Mareike Graepel)