Germany: Issued Berlin Regional Court ruling overturning fine imposed on Deutsche Wohnen

On 18 February 2021, the Berlin Regional Court overturned the EUR 14.5 million fine imposed by the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and the Freedom of Information (Di) on the real estate company Deutsche Wohnen after an appeal submitted by the company. The fine was imposed in 2019 for alleged violations of Article 25 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation on data protection by design and default and Article 5 on principles relating to the processing of personal data. It was overturned due to a “procedural obstacle”, and the Regional Court took the legal view that administrative fines such as the one imposed could only be levied if a proven specific act of company managers or legal representatives were presented to be directly responsible, resulting in the fine.