Dansk Retursystem – Court Ruling (Germany, 2024)

On May 2021, Dansk Retursystem sent to the data subject an advertising letter advertising products from X. Lebensversicherung AG. As a result, the data subject demanded information from the controller and the deletion of his data. The controller replied that it had received the data from the company AD from Switzerland and processed it on behalf of X. Lebensversicherung AG for marketing purposes on the basis of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, without transmitting the data to the data subject himself. The data subject claimed for non-material damages pursuant to Article 82 GDPR in the amount of EUR 3,000.00, as well as pre-trial legal costs, for violation of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR, affirming that he did not consent to such processing of his personal data and there was no customer relationship with the defendant or its business partners. The Court dismissed the claim, recognizing that advertising can be a legitimate interest within the controller's business. Also, the data subject's interests do not outweigh the interests of the controller. In addition, they highlighted that having a customer relationship before the direct advertising it is not a requirement. Unsatisfied, the data subject appealed, requesting a compensation for his non-material damage in the amount of €3,000.00 and the reimbursement of the appeal in the amount of €603.93. The Court decided to uphold the judgment of the Stuttgart Regional Court, dismissing the data subject's appeal. They concluded that the advertising mail sent by Dansk Retursystem was lawful under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR and there was no need for an existing customer relationship for direct advertising to be considered a legitimate interest. Also, they highlighted that the data subject's claim for damages under Article 82 GDPR was unfounded, since he failed to demonstrate that he suffered any actual harm or distress beyond mere displeasure from receiving the advertisement. The Court reaffirmed that the use of personal data for direct advertising