Court case 4 CS 21.2254 – 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 ruled on a case involving a municipal water provider's plan to install remotely readable water meters. Residents objected, arguing it was unnecessary and could reveal personal data. The court found the water provider's actions lacked a valid legal basis under GDPR.
What happened
A municipal water provider planned to install remotely readable water meters, but residents objected, citing privacy concerns.
Who was affected
Residents living in properties with shared water meters who objected to the new remotely readable meters.
What the authority found
The court ruled that the water provider did not have a valid legal basis for installing the remotely readable meters, as required by GDPR.
Why this matters
This case highlights the importance of obtaining a valid legal basis for processing personal data. Companies should ensure transparency and respect individuals' rights when implementing new technologies that collect personal data.
GDPR Articles Cited
National Law Articles
The controller is a municipal water provider. Its data subjects are private persons living on a property that has two residential units. This includes a water meter that records the consumption of both residential units. A letter from the controller of February 2021 contained the note that with the next change of the electronic water meter it was planned to install a water meter that is remotely readable and runs with a wireless function. The controller set the data subjects a deadline of two weeks to make an objection if they did not want the water meter to be remotely readable. The controller made clear that in that case, the supply of several residential units by the water meter would not be given. The data subjects made an objection and did not allow the employee of the controller access the water meter. On 20 April 2021, the data subjects also objected according to Art. 21(1) GDPR. On 12 May 2021, the controller obliged the data subjects by a notice, among other things, to let the employees of the controller access the water meter. On 9 June 2021, the data subjects again did not grant access to the employee of the controller. On 11 June 2021, they filed an appeal against the notice from 12 May 2021 with the Administrative Court Bayreuth VG Bayreuth. The data subjects also requested the VG Bayreuth to grant a preliminary injunction. According to the data subjects, the collection of the data would not be necessary for running the water supply. They argued that the data processed was personal data as it was possible to know who for example is not at home with additional knowledge and other data. The controller on the other hand argued that there was no possibility to assign the consumption of water to individual persons. Therefore, the controller was of the opinion that it was not a matter of personal data. Hence, there was also no possibility to make an objection regarding the installation of a water meter that is remotely readable. On 15 July 2021, the contro
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case 4 CS 21.2254 in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case 4 CS 21.2254 - Germany (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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