The TTDSG is considered to be the result of the reaction to the Federal Court of Justice's ('Bundesgerichtshof') decision on the validity of consent for placing cookies on users' end devices when pre-ticked checkboxes were used as part of an online lottery in 20131 ('the Cookie Case'). This decision was delivered taking into account the Court of Justice of the European Union's ('CJEU') ruling in case of Planet49 GmbH v. Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen und Verbraucherverbände – Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. (C-673/17), which was triggered by questions submitted by the Bundesgerichtshof for this exact case. In its judgment, the Bundesgerichtshof found, among other things, that
Insight
Germany: The New Federal Act on the Regulation of Data Protection and Privacy in Telecommunications and Telemedia
June 24, 2021
Summary
The Federal Act on the Regulation of Data Protection and Privacy in Telecommunications and Telemedia (TTDSG) in Germany, effective from 1 December 2021, consolidates previous laws and aims to align with the ePrivacy Directive, particularly in the use of cookies. It has a broad scope, applying to any company with an establishment in Germany or involved in providing services there, regardless of active data processing. The TTDSG's implementation lacks clarity on what constitutes 'strictly necessary' data storage, offering little legal certainty to companies. Enforcement is primarily the responsibility of the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) for specific sectors, with ambiguity remaining on cross-border enforcement.