The GDPR remains a perennial issue: following the flood of inquiries and complaints since the GDPR came into force in May, data protection authorities in Germany expect the number of inquiries to remain high or continue to rise in the fourth quarter. This is the result of a survey of the 16 state authorities commissioned by the Munich-based company ER Secure GmbH, which was conducted by the agency SCRIVO Public Relations and is published below.
According to the telephone and written survey, 60 percent of the data protection authorities surveyed in the federal states see a consistently high trend in inquiries and complaints in the fourth quarter. 20 percent even see a significant increase. Rhineland-Palatinate expects a five-fold increase in contacts. In contrast, only the authorities in the federal states of Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland expect a decrease.
With around 4,700 inquiries and complaints per month, North Rhine-Westphalia is in first place in the ranking, followed by Berlin with more than 2,400 and Bavaria with 2,380 monthly contacts from concerned citizens, associations and companies. Whether the company is based in Munich, Nuremberg or Passau, the high level of interest in the topic shows that companies urgently need to comply with the law. In Bavaria, 24 employees are currently dealing with inquiries and complaints. According to the survey, the majority of these currently concern online issues. The majority of inquiries and complaints received by the authorities come from the category of internet use. Video surveillance, telemedia, advertising and the data protection-compliant design of websites are also frequent reasons for inquiries and complaints. According to the authorities, citizens and institutions are also interested in data protection in the health sector. In addition, data subjects contact the 16 data protection authorities with questions about information obligations, rights to information, data subject rights and employee data protection.
The authorities, which have been under heavy strain, have further increased the number of their employees since 25 May. With 66 employees, North Rhine-Westphalia is currently the largest authority, closely followed by Baden-Württemberg (55), Berlin (51) and Lower Saxony (49). The authorities in Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein have also announced their intention to create further jobs in the coming year. There is no question that the authorities are becoming increasingly capable of taking action. After companies have had a kind of grace period in recent months, the likelihood of consequences is now increasing. This is because the authorities can now successively and prioritize all complaints they receive. Companies that have previously taken the GDPR lightly must use the time to position themselves in accordance with the law. Interesting to know: The Munich-based company ER Secure GmbH offers an online solution that companies, associations and clubs can use to implement the GDPR step by step, tailored to their needs.
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