Region: Germany

German antitrust authority attacks messenger and video services’ data practices

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has criticised the businesses’ inadequate security practices and discovered possible GDPR breaches, including unlawful data transfers to third countries.

18 May 2023

German regulators attempt to regulate undefined “sovereign cloud” market

The annual conference of German data protection regulators has published guidance on what data protection requirements cloud providers should meet before they call their products “sovereign”.

12 May 2023

ECJ clarifies accountability

A failure to complete records of processing activities and joint controllership arrangements does not mean data processing is unlawful, the European Court of Justice has held.

04 May 2023

German fines require negligent conduct, says ECJ adviser

A European Court of Justice advocate-general has said German regulators do not have to identify responsible individuals in order to fine companies – but said penalties can only be issued if companies acted intentionally or negligently.

27 April 2023

Austrian regulator sides with publishers in cookie paywall dispute

Austria’s data protection authority has broadly approved the use of cookie paywalls by online publishers, but warned that users must be given more choice over the processing of their data.

12 April 2023

Canada launches ChatGPT investigation

Regulatory scrutiny of OpenAI’s chatbot continues, after Canada announced the launch of a probe and Berlin highlighted ChatGPT’s “obvious” data protection risks in a statement.

04 April 2023

ECJ says employee processing must meet GDPR safeguards

In its first decision on processing in an employment context, the European Court of Justice has said that particular rules on employee processing and other areas not specifically covered by the GDPR must meet the thresholds of protection set by the regulation.

03 April 2023

German regulators respond to noyb cookie paywall complaints

German data protection authorities have approved the use of subscription models for individuals who want to opt out of online tracking – a step which could see companies put a public price on a user’s data.

31 March 2023

German parties face unlawful political advertising accusations

Noyb has accused six German political parties of violating the GDPR by targeting voters through Facebook adverts without an appropriate legal basis.

21 March 2023

German government fights Facebook page ban

The German government’s press office is challenging the federal data regulator’s decision to force it to delete the government’s facebook page.

20 March 2023

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