Bild – Court Ruling (Germany, 2022)
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 German court case involved a journalist suing to reveal the sellers of a historic note related to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The court had to decide if the Foundation could keep the sellers' identities private. This case underscores the tension between privacy agreements and public interest in historical documents.
What happened
A journalist sued to disclose the identities of sellers involved in a historic note's sale to a foundation.
Who was affected
The sellers of the 'Schabowski Note' and the journalist seeking their identities.
What the authority found
The court had to determine if the Foundation's promise of anonymity to the sellers could be upheld against the journalist's request.
Why this matters
This case highlights the balance between contractual privacy agreements and transparency, especially concerning items of historical significance. It serves as a reminder for organizations to carefully consider privacy promises in contracts.
GDPR Articles Cited
National Law Articles
On November 9, 1989, Günter Schabowski, member and spokesman for the Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED - party in power in the eastern part of Germany during the cold war) read out the new travel regulations of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) at a press conference live on television. During the press conference he was asked by an Italian and German reporter about the date when the new regulations will come into force. Mr. Schabowski, looking a little perplexed at first, answers "To my knowledge - that is immediately, without delay". The new travel regulations allowed people to travel to foreign countries, especially Western countries, more easily than before. Immediately after the press conference thousands of East-Berlin's residents were flocking to the border, demanding their opening. The wall dividing Germany fell. The piece of paper, also known as the "Schabowski Note", from which Mr. Schabowski was reading the new travel regulations is now owned by the "Haus der Geschichte" Foundation in Bonn. The Foundation had bought the note in 2015 for 25,000 euros. The seller demanded anonymity, which the Foundation also assured him. But the path of how the note came to the first and later to the second seller, who sold it to the Foundation, is not completely clear. Mr. Schabowski´s family said that the Note was given to someone to take a closer look at it, but never given away permanently, they have asked the person to give it back, which did not happen. A journalist from the “Bild” Newspaper filed a lawsuit to disclose the wording of the agreement between the Foundation and the second seller and the name of both sellers. The Foundation refused to provide the information on the grounds that the seller had been promised anonymity as part of the contract. This provision was binding only between the second seller and the Foundation, the first seller did not insist on anonymity. The Administrative Court of Cologne (Verwaltungsgericht Köln - V
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Bild in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Bild - Germany (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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