Divergence by national choice
Article 13(3) of Directive 2002/58/EC expressly left each Member State to choose between consent and objection for communications not covered by paragraphs 1 and 2. That single sentence is the origin of most of the divergence in the marketing layer, and it is not an oversight — it was a deliberate legislative choice, and the instrument that would have removed it was withdrawn in 2025.
Divergence by presence or absence of a national regime
Four Member States have a general customer service regime on current verification; the remainder do not. Where none exists, the operation is not exempt — it is uncertain, and uncertainty is harder to document than an obligation.
Divergence by connecting factor
Most national regimes bind by establishment. The Spanish regime binds expressly by territory served, reaching undertakings established in any other State that operate in Spanish territory. An operation that consolidates to reduce the number of applicable regimes may find that this particular one follows it.
It cannot tell you whether a market has a regime you have not identified, and it cannot verify what is only observable from outside. It reveals whether there is a problem; it does not measure it and it produces no evidence usable before a third party.
Apply this to your operation
A general framework is no substitute for a concrete assessment. The diagnostic determines what applies to your operation.