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On March 28, 2020, the “Federal Act for the Protection of the Population against an Epidemic of National Significance” (Bevölkerungsschutzgesetz) went into effect.  The law forms part of an emergency legislative package introduced by the German government in response to COVID-19.

The law amends the Social Code V (SGB V)…

Over the past several days, Germany Supervisory Authorities and health authorities have issued statements and guidance about the handling of personal data in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  In this blog, we consider some these statements in greater detail, as well as their implications for employers and employees.
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Continue Reading German Authorities Issue Guidance Related to Coronavirus

On December 2, 2019, the German Supervisory Authorities issued a report evaluating the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in Germany.  The report describes the Supervisory Authorities’ experience thus far in applying the GDPR and lists the provisions of the GDPR they see as problematic in practice.  For each of these provisions, the report discusses the perceived problem and proposes a solution.

The report begins by noting that the GDPR has significantly increased the workload of German Supervisory Authorities over the past year and a half.  This is due not only to an “enormous growth” in the number of complaints and consultation requests received, but also additional work resulting from the GDPR’s cross-border cooperation procedure.  Since the increased workload has not always been met with increased resources, the authorities have found it difficult to effectively supervise compliance.  Controllers are apparently aware of this and, as a result, have neglected their duties to be GDPR compliant.…

Continue Reading German Supervisory Authorities Propose Changes to the GDPR

In two recent landmark decisions issued on November 6, 2019, the German Constitutional Court (“BVerfG”) presented its unique perspective on the “right to be forgotten” and announced that it will assume a greater role in safeguarding German residents’ fundamental rights from now on.
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Continue Reading German Constitutional Court Reshapes “Right to be Forgotten” and Expands Its Oversight of Human Rights Violations

On October 30, 2019, the supervisory authority (“SA”) of Berlin issued a € 14.5 million fine against the real estate company Deutsche Wohnen SE for storing personal data of tenants without a legal basis (Art. 6 GDPR) and for not implementing the GDPR principle of privacy by design (Art. 5 and 25(1) GDPR) (press release…

On October 16, 2019, the body of German Supervisory Authorities known as the Datenschutzkonferenz (“DSK”) released a document proposing a model for calculating fines under the GDPR.  The DSK indicated that this model is subject to change and will be superseded by any method put forward in guidance issued by the European Data Protection Board.…

On September 10, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU“) issued its decision in the Planet 49 case.  The case centers on the consent requirements for the use of cookies.

Planet49 GmbH offered an online lottery service for which interested users had to register.  The registration form asked users to tick a…

Update, September 19, 2019: Further to the reports on its scheme for calculating fines, which prompted requests on the supervisory to publish it, the Datenschutzkonferenz has clarified that fines in individual cases are calculated on the basis of Art. 83(2) GDPR, and that the model is only used on a complimentary basis. Furthermore, the…

On June 27, 2019, the High Court of Frankfurt decided that a consent for data processing tied to a consent for receiving advertising can be considered as freely given under the GDPR.

The case concerned an electricity company that relied on consent obtained by another company to advertise its products and services to the claimant.…