Data

Discussions are taking place at both national and European level on how to foster the availability of data. Proposals include, for example, the establishment of neutral data intermediaries and concepts such as “data altruism”.

In general, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband – vzbv) welcomes this approach. Better availability of data can create added value for individual consumers and help solve social problems, such as the transition to a smarter mobility. Improved availability of data is also desirable from a competition perspective.

However, vzbv rejects the idea of direct remuneration of consumers for their data, as this would create false incentives for low-income groups. In addition, data protection requirements and basic principles such as purpose limitation must not be undermined. Responsible data use is only possible if people can fully trust in the protection of their personal data.

      
        vzbv demands    
    no lowering of data protection as a consequence of the facilitation of data use
clear rules for data intermediaries that ensure their neutrality
a precise definition of data processing for the common good
the promotion of research on anonymization techniques and safeguards for anonymised data
promote data portability and interoperability through open standards and open systems

News

Statue der Justitia, der Göttin der Gerechtigkeit. Eine Menschenmenge im Hintergrund — Credit: vzbv / Raum 11

26.04.2023Data act: safeguarding consumer rights in the trilogue

In February 2022, the European Commission published the proposal for the Data Act. Its goal is to promote the availability of data while respecting fun-damental European values. The Data Act is intended to regulate the condi-tions under which companies or consumers can obtain data generated by their connected devices and make them available to other parties.

Recommendations to improve the data act

Recommendations of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband) on the Data Act trilogue negotiations | 18. April 2023

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Designing interoperable Messenger Services | Response of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations | February 2023

Response of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) to the public consultation on the “BEREC report on Interoperability of Number-Independent Interpersonal Communication Services” | February 2023

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Mobility Data Guardian - Ensuring Digital Privacy in Connected Vehicles For All Conumsers | Position paper of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations | November 2022

Position paper of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. – vzbv) on consumer-friendly and fair access to vehicle data | November 2022

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Personal Information Management System (PIMS) | position paper of vzbv | 19 February 2020

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Legal Proceedings

Monitor showing a CCTV camera. Below: Fast track to surveillance. How Google makes privacy the hard choice — Credit: BEUC

30.06.2022European consumer groups take action against Google

Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) sends warning letter to Google because of suspected breaches of the GDPR, a first step before potentially filing a civil lawsuit.