Court case 1 A 217/22 MD – Court Ruling (Germany, 2024)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A court in Germany ruled against a web portal that used a call center to contact potential clients without proper data handling practices. This is important because it emphasizes the need for companies to respect people's wishes regarding marketing calls.
What happened
A web portal used a call center to collect personal data from potential clients without proper consent.
Who was affected
Landlords and operators of holiday homes who were contacted by the call center were affected.
What the authority found
The court ordered the web portal to stop using personal data for advertising unless they have proper consent.
Why this matters
This ruling serves as a reminder for businesses to ensure they have valid consent before using personal data for marketing, especially when using third-party services.
GDPR Articles Cited
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The controller runs a web portal that connects operators of holiday homes to potential guests by allowing the operators to place ads on the portal. To acquire new operators to present their holiday homes the controller advertises their service via phone. They were using the services of a call centre in Kosovo for this purpose. Call centre staff members would search for phone numbers of landlords and operators of hotels and holiday homes and called them. They presented the portal to them and tried to close a contract about a cost free test entry or a “premium entry” on the portal. During the call, the call centre staff asked for data related to the customer and their accommodation. Subsequently, the controller provided the new client with information and a confirmation via e-mail. Persons who said they did not want to be contacted anymore were blacklisted. Following 20 data protection complaints, the Saxony-Anhalt DPA (Landesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz Sachsen-Anhalt) got to know about the business practices of the controller and, in particular, that a client will receive more calls after opting for the cost-free test ad on the portal. The DPA then conducted an official hearing of the controller. After the hearing, the Saxony-Anhalt DPA ordered the controller under Article 58(2)(f) GDPR to refrain from the processing of phone numbers and other personal data for the purpose of advertisement if these phone numbers are related to an identifiable natural person. This order included an exception for cases in which the person had either consented to the processing of their data or concrete facts indicate that the person had a factual interest in an advertisement entry on the controller’s page and is awaiting the call or at least would react positively to the call. Furthermore, it ordered the controller under Article 58(2)(g) GDPR to delete all personal data that could not be processed anymore under the aforementioned order. In addition, the DPA ordered the controll
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case 1 A 217/22 MD in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case 1 A 217/22 MD - Germany (2024). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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