- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Germany · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Court case 9 U 6/19 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2019)
Privacy enforcement record
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A court ruled that a pharmacy did not violate data protection rules by selling prescription-free medicines on Amazon. This is important because it clarifies how health data is treated in online sales and emphasizes the need for explicit consent.
What happened
The court found that the pharmacy did not obtain explicit consent from customers for processing their health data.
Who was affected
Customers who ordered prescription-free medicines from the pharmacy were affected by the lack of consent.
What the authority found
The court decided that implied consent was insufficient under data protection rules, which require explicit consent for processing health data.
Why this matters
This ruling sets a precedent for how online pharmacies must handle customer consent, reminding businesses that they need to be clear about data processing practices.
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Automated check recorded — 20 March 2026.
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Both the plaintiff and the defendant run pharmacies. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant sells prescription-free medicines via Amazon-Marketplace, violating competition law. Firstly, the Court found that customers disclose their health data to the sales platform Amazon deliberately and there is no data transmitted by the defendant to Amazon. After Amazon has transmitted the order data, the situation is comparable with a direct order from the defendant's online pharmacy. The legislator has permitted online pharmacies. Then, the Court found that customers’ order data is health data and fall within Article 9(1) GDPR. Amazon does not collect health data stricto sensu but it can draw conclusions about customers’ health from the order data. The plaintiff pointed out that any breaches of data protection laws by the Amazon Marketplace platform are not part of this legal dispute. It is also not a question whether any data protection breaches by the platform can be attributed to the defendant. The decisive factor here is the data processing by the defendant himself. The Court finally found that there is no explicit consent by the customers as requested under Article 9(2)(a) GDPR and an implied consent cannot fulfill the provision’s requirement. Additionally, the professional code of conduct of the Saxony-Anhalt Chamber of Pharmacists obliges pharmacists to obtain written consent.
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case 9 U 6/19 in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case 9 U 6/19 - Germany (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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