Trade association – Court Ruling (Germany, 2020)

The defendant had offered tires for instant purchase on the website eBay where he had not provided potential buyers with information about the processing of their personal data in case of a purchase according to Article 13 GDPR. Therefore, the plaintiff, as representative trade-association of those potential buyers, lodged a complaint with the competent jurisdiction, demanding that the defendant be summoned to provide the missing information since the sell was otherwise to be considered inadmissible. Is the absence of information, such as required by Article 13 GDPR, to be considered as an unfair trade-base action, making the offer inadmissible in accordance with § 3 UWG (national law against unfair competition)? After admitting the right of action of the plaintiff as representative association of consumers’ rights, the Court points out that the absence of information of Article 13 GDPR constitutes a violation of the law and, as such, an unfair trade-base action as understood by § 3 of the national law against unfair competition (UWG). As long as the defendant does not provide the missing information, the offer is therefore to be considered as inadmissible.