Bundesdatenschutzgesetz
| Bundesdatenschutzgesetz | |
|---|---|
| Germany |
The German Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG) is a Federal data protection act, that together with the data protection acts of the German federal states and other area-specific regulations, governs the exposure of personal data, which are manually processed or stored in IT systems.
In the early 1960s, consideration for comprehensive data protection began in the United States and further developed with advancements in computer technology and its privacy risks. So a regulatory framework was needed to counteract the impairment of privacy in the processing of personal data.
In the year 1970, the federal state of Hessen passed the first national data protection law, which was also the first data protection law in the world. In 1971, the first draft bill was submitted for a federal data protection act. Eight years later, on 1 January 1979, the first federal data protection act came into force. In the following years, as the BDSG was taking shape in practice, a technical development took place in data processing as the computer became increasingly important both at work and in the private sector.
There were also significant changes the legal field. With the (in German) (census verdict) of December 15, 1983, the Constitutional Court developed the right to self-determination of information (Article 1 I Constitution in conjunction with Article 2 I Constitution). The verdict confirmed that personal data are constitutionally protected in Germany. This means that individuals have the power to decide when and to what extent personal information is published.
In 1990, the legislature adopted a new data protection law based on the decision of the German Constitutional Court.
In 2009, there were three amendments to the BDSG as a resultof criticism from consumer advocates and numerous privacy scandals in business. The amendments addressed the following items:
The law should protect individuals' personal rights from being injured through the handling of their personal information (§ 1 I BDSG).
According to § 1 II BDSG the law applies to the collection, processing, and use of personal data by:
The Central Register of Foreign Nationals (Germany), according to § 22 and § 37 of the law, establishes a central register that is excluded from certain sections of the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz.
Public authorities are the Federal Authorities, the administration of justice and other public-law institutions of the Federation, the Federal Authorities, establishments, and foundations under public law and their associations, irrespective of their legal form (§ 2 I BDSG).
Public authorities of the federal states, the authorities and the institutions of justice and other public-law institutions of a federal state, community, a community association and other legal persons of public law, which are subordinated to the supervision of the federal state of public law and their associations, irrespective of their legal form (§ 2 II BDSG).
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