Contextual Info

In addition to enforcement, the Berlin Supervisory Authority also provides guidance and support to companies and organizations to help them understand and comply with the GDPR. The Authority offers training, seminars and workshops to companies, and provides guidance documents and other resources to assist businesses with compliance.

In addition to the Berlin Supervisory Authority, there is also an independent supervisory authority in Germany, the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, who also monitors and enforces compliance of GDPR and other data protection laws on a national level.

It’s worth noting that it’s important for companies to keep track of any changes or updates from the Berlin Supervisory Authority, or any supervisory authority, as they may provide new guidance or make changes to their policies and procedures.

… about the federated system

In Germany, data protection enforcement is carried out by a federated structure of supervisory authorities, which means that there are several different supervisory authorities responsible for enforcing data protection laws at the federal, state and local levels.

At the federal level, the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The BfDI also acts as an appellate body for decisions made by state and local supervisory authorities.

At the state level, each state has its own supervisory authority, with specific responsibilities and jurisdiction. In Berlin, the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit, BfDI Berlin) is responsible for enforcing data protection laws within the city. The BfDI Berlin carries out investigations, audits, and inspections to ensure compliance with the GDPR, and is responsible for investigating and addressing data protection-related complaints and incidents that occur within the city.

The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information can be contacted at the following address:

It is also important to note that companies operating in Berlin should also be aware of the jurisdiction of the BfDI as well as other supervisory authorities in other regions where they operate. It is a company’s responsibility to identify which supervisory authority is the lead supervisory authority for them in order to ensure that they are reporting any incidents, or data breaches, to the right authority.