Chapter 1 - Scope and definitions
Section 1 - Scope of the ActSection 2 - DefinitionsChapter 2 - Legal basis for processing personal data
Section 3 - Processing of personal data by public bodiesSection 4 - Video surveillance of publicly accessible spacesChapter 3 - Data protection officers of public bodies
Section 5 - DesignationSection 6 - PositionSection 7 - TasksChapter 4 - Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Section 8 - EstablishmentSection 9 - CompetenceSection 10 - IndependenceSection 11 - Appointment and term of officeSection 12 - Official relationshipSection 13 - Rights and obligationsSection 14 - TasksSection 15 - Activity reportsSection 16 - PowersChapter 5 - Representation on the European Data Protection Board, single contact point, cooperation among the federal supervisory authorities and those of the Länder concerning European Union matters
Section 17 - Representation on the European Data Protection Board, single contact pointSection 18 - Procedures for cooperation among the federal and Länder supervisory authoritiesSection 19 - ResponsibilitiesChapter 6 - Legal remedies
Section 20 - Judicial remedySection 21 - Application of the supervisory authority for a court decision if it believes that an adequacy decision by the European Commission violates the lawChapter 1 - Legal basis for processing personal data
Sub-chapter 1 - Processing of special categories of personal data and processing for other purposes
Section 22 - Processing of special categories of personal dataSection 23 - Processing for other purposes by public bodiesSection 24 - Processing for other purposes by private bodiesSection 25 - Transfer of data by public bodiesSub-chapter 2 - Special processing situations
Section 26 - Data processing for employment-related purposesSection 27 - Data processing for purposes of scientific or historical research and for statistical purposesSection 28 - Data processing for archiving purposes in the public interestSection 29 - Rights of the data subject and powers of the supervisory authorities in the case of secrecy obligationsSection 30 - Consumer loansSection 31 - Protection of commercial transactions in the case of scoring and credit reportsChapter 2 - Rights of the data subject
Section 32 - Information to be provided where personal data are collected from the data subjectSection 33 - Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subjectSection 34 - Right of access by the data subjectSection 35 - Right to erasureSection 36 - Right to objectSection 37 - Automated individual decision-making, including profilingChapter 3 - Obligations of controllers and processors
Section 38 - Data protection officers of private bodiesSection 39 - AccreditationChapter 4 - Supervisory authorities for data processing by private bodies
Section 40 - Supervisory authorities of the LänderChapter 5 - Penalties
Section 41 - Application of provisions concerning criminal proceedings and proceedings to impose administrative finesSection 42 - Penal provisionsSection 43 - Provisions on administrative finesChapter 6 - Legal remedies
Section 44 - Proceedings against a controller or processorChapter 1 - Scope, definitions and general principles for processing personal data
Section 45 - ScopeSection 46 - DefinitionsSection 47 - General principles for processing personal dataChapter 2 - Legal basis for processing personal data
Section 48 - Processing of special categories of personal dataSection 49 - Processing for other purposesSection 50 - Processing for archiving, scientific and statistical purposesSection 51 - ConsentSection 52 - Processing on instructions from the controllerSection 53 - ConfidentialitySection 54 - Automated individual decisionChapter 3 - Rights of the data subject
Section 55 - General information on data processingSection 56 - Notification of data subjectsSection 57 - Right of accessSection 58 - Right to rectification and erasure and to restriction of processingSection 59 - Modalities for exercising the rights of the data subjectSection 60 - Right to lodge a complaint with the Federal CommissionerSection 61 - Legal remedies against decisions of the Federal Commissioner or if he or she fails to take actionChapter 4 - Obligations of controllers and processors
Section 62 - Processing carried out on behalf of a controllerSection 63 - Joint controllersSection 64 - Requirements for the security of data processingSection 65 - Notifying the Federal Commissioner of a personal data breachSection 66 - Notifying data subjects affected by a personal data breachSection 67 - Conducting a data protection impact assessmentSection 68 - Cooperation with the Federal CommissionerSection 69 - Prior consultation of the Federal CommissionerSection 70 - Records of processing activitiesSection 71 - Data protection by design and by defaultSection 72 - Distinction between different categories of data subjectsSection 73 - Distinction between facts and personal assessmentsSection 74 - Procedures for data transfersSection 75 - Rectification and erasure of personal data and restriction of processingSection 76 - LoggingSection 77 - Confidential reporting of violationsChapter 5 - Transfers of data to third countries and to international organisations
Section 78 - General requirementsSection 79 - Data transfers with appropriate safeguardsSection 80 - Data transfers without appropriate safeguardsSection 81 - Other data transfers to recipients in third countriesChapter 6 - Cooperation among supervisory authorities
Section 82 - Mutual assistanceChapter 7 - Liability and penalties
Section 83 - CompensationSection 84 - Penal provisions(4) Even after his or her official relationship has ended, the Federal Commissioner shall be obligated to secrecy concerning matters of which he or she is aware by reason of his or her official duties. This obligation shall not apply to official communications or to matters which are common knowledge or which by their nature do not require confidentiality. The Federal Commissioner shall decide at his or her due discretion whether and to what extent he or she will testify in or outside court or make statements concerning such matters; if he or she is no longer in office, the permission of the Federal Commissioner in office shall be required. This shall not affect the legal obligation to report crimes and to uphold the free and democratic order wherever it is threatened. Sections 93, 97, 105 (1), Section 111 (5) in conjunction with Section 105 (1) and Section 116 (1) of the German Fiscal Code shall not apply to the Federal Commissioner or his or her staff. The fifth sentence shall not apply where the financial authorities require such knowledge in order to conduct legal proceedings due to a tax offence and related tax proceedings, in the prosecution of which there is compelling public interest, or where the person required to provide information or persons acting on his or her behalf have intentionally provided false information. If the Federal Commissioner determines that data protection provisions have been violated, he or she shall be authorized to report the violation and inform the data subject accordingly.
(5) Persons assigned by the supervisory authority to monitor compliance with data protection legislation shall be authorized, as needed to perform their tasks, to enter the property and premises of the body and to have access to all data processing equipment and means. The body shall be obligated to tolerate such access. Section 16 (4) shall apply accordingly.
(3) If the controller or processor has designated a representative pursuant to Article 27 (1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, this representative shall also be an authorized recipient in civil law proceedings pursuant to subsection 1. Section 184 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall remain unaffected.
Processing personal data for a purpose other than the one for which they were collected shall be permitted if the other purpose is one of the purposes listed in Section 45, the controller is authorized to process data for this purpose, and processing is necessary and proportionate to this purpose. Processing personal data for another purpose not listed in Section 45 shall be permitted if it is allowed by law.
(1) A decision based solely on automated processing which produces an adverse legal effect concerning the data subject or significantly affects him or her shall be permitted only when authorized by law.
2. ensures that persons authorized to process the personal data have committed themselves to confidentiality or are under an appropriate statutory obligation of confidentiality;
5. ensure that persons authorized to use an automated processing system have access only to the personal data covered by their access authorisation (‘data access control’);
1. the controller has implemented appropriate technical and organisational protection measures, and those measures were applied to the personal data affected by the personal data breach, in particular those that render the personal data unintelligible to any person who is not authorized to access them, such as encryption;
(4) The controller transferring data pursuant to subsection 1 shall take appropriate measures to ensure that the recipient will transfer the data onward to other third countries or other international organisations only with the prior authorisation of the controller. When deciding whether to authorize the transfer, the controller shall take into account all relevant factors, including the seriousness of the criminal offence, the purpose for which the personal data were originally transferred and the level of personal data protection in the third country or international organisation to which the data are to be transferred onward. The transfer shall be authorized only if a direct transfer to the other third country or international organisation would be lawful. The responsibility for issuing authorisation may also be otherwise provided for.