www.jameda.de – 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 that www.jameda.de must delete a doctor's profile linked to user reviews but upheld the site's right to offer premium services. The court found the basic profile's use for ads did not violate GDPR. This case shows how courts balance privacy with business models on review sites.
What happened
www.jameda.de was ordered to erase a doctor's profile linked to user reviews, but its premium service model was upheld.
Who was affected
A doctor whose basic profile on a review site was linked to user reviews and advertisements for other doctors.
What the authority found
The court found the processing unlawful for linking reviews but did not find the premium service model violated GDPR.
Why this matters
This ruling highlights the complexity of privacy issues in online business models, especially for sites offering both free and paid services. Website operators should ensure transparency and fairness in how they handle user data and advertisements.
GDPR Articles Cited
The controller managed a website – www.jameda.de – where personal data of doctors’ where collected and made available to internet users. These data included at least: name, academic degree and specialization of the practitioners, as well as professional addresses and telephone numbers. Data were processed without data subjects’ consent. The controller also offered doctors the option to add further information to their basic profile by paying a price. This optional service included the possibility to upload pictures, statements, articles, videos etc. Both basic and “premium” profiles enabled users to anonymously publish their “reviews”, which were attached to the doctor’s profile and publicly visible. The data subject was a doctor reviewed on the website, but they never consented to the processing of their personal data by the controller. He brought several allegations against the controller and requested a civil court to order the controller to erase the profile and stop several processing operations. The Regional Court of Munich (Landgericht München – LG München) declared the processing unlawful and imposed on the controller the erasure of the profile insofar as personal data of the data subject were associated with user reviews. However, the data subject appealed the part of this judgement that was not favourable to them. In particular, the data subject asked the court of appeal to check whether the controller violated the GDPR by implementing for premium profiles a design that infringed the data subject’s fundamental rights. More specifically, in the data subject’s view, services offered to paying customers indirectly put the data subject in a position of disadvantage, as basic profile holders were not allowed to personalise their page. In addition, the appeal concerned the fact that the data subject’s basic profile was used to display advertisements regarding other doctors who decided to subscribe to the “premium” option, again damaging the data subject’s profes
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for www.jameda.de in DE
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. www.jameda.de - Germany (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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