EU-Level
The EU-level Legislation known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Federal-level
The Federal-level Legislation known as the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG)
State-level
The State-level Legislation known as the Berliner Datenschutzgesetz (BlnDSG)
| GDPR | BDSG | BlnDSG | |
| Scope | – EU level and applies to EU member states – Governs processing of personal data in all sectors | – German Federal Law – Supplements and specifies provisions within the GDPR | – Data protection law for the state of Berlin in Germany |
| Enforcement | – Enforced at the EU level, with the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) providing guidance and consistency across member states | – Enforced by the German data protection authorities | – Enforced by the Berlin data protection authorities |
| Applicability | – All of the EU | – All of Germany | – Berlin specific |
| Data Protection Officers (DPOs) | – Mandates the appointment of DPOs for certain organizations or public authorities | – Provides further details about DPOs, such as their qualifications and responsibilities | – Public authorities must appoint DPOs if they process personal data – Non-public bodies must appoint DPOs if their core activities involve extensive data processing or processing sensitive data – Courts are exempt, and a deputy data protection officer may be required. |
| Penalties | – Substantial fines for non-compliance, with a maximum of €20 million or 4% of the global annual turnover, whichever is higher | – Includes provisions regarding administrative fines that can be imposed for GDPR violations | – Section 28: no fines imposed on public bodies |
There are three data protection laws that govern Berlin. On this website we currently provide the official German versions of the federal law and the state law. For the federal law, we host the official English translation of each article. For the state law, since there is not official English translation, the translation of each article was machine generated.
The GDPR applies at the largest level. The BDSG is the next specific as it applies only to Germany. The BlnDSG applies specifically to data regulation in the state of Berlin.
