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and the Federal Office of Justice ‒ www.gesetze-im-internet.de
The Federal Commissioner shall produce an annual activity report which may contain a list
of the types of violations reported and the types of measures taken, including penalties and
measures taken in accordance with Article 58 (2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. The Federal
Commissioner shall submit this report to the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the
Federal Government and shall make it available to the public, the European Commission
and the European Data Protection Board.
Section 16
Powers
(1) The Federal Commissioner shall have, within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the
powers referred to in Article 58 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679. If the Federal Commissioner
concludes that data protection legislation has been violated or that there are other problems
with the processing of personal data, he or she shall inform the competent authority for legal
or technical matters and, before exercising the powers referred to in Article 58 (2) (b) to (g),
(i) and (j) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, shall give this authority the opportunity to provide its
opinion to the controller within a reasonable period. The opportunity to provide an opinion
may be dispensed with if an immediate decision seems necessary due to imminent danger
or in the public interest, or if it would conflict with compelling public interests. The opinion
should also include a description of the measures taken on the basis of the information from
the Federal Commissioner.
(2) If the Federal Commissioner finds that, in data processing for purposes beyond the scope
of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, public bodies of the Federation have violated this Act or ot her
data protection legislation or there are other insufficiencies with their processing or use of
personal data, the Federal Commissioner shall lodge a complaint with the competent
supreme federal authority and shall require this authority to respond within a period to be
determined by the Federal Commissioner. The Federal Commissioner may dispense with a
complaint or a response, especially if the problems involved are insignificant or have been
remedied in the meantime. The response should also describe t he measures taken as a
result of the Federal Commissioner’s complaint. The Federal Commissioner may also warn a
controller that intended processing operations are likely to violate provisions of this Act and
other data protection provisions which apply to the data processing in question.
(3) The powers of the Federal Commissioner shall also extend to
1.
personal data obtained by bodies of the Federation subject to the Federal
Commissioner’s supervision concerning the contents of and specific circumstances
relating to postal communications and telecommunications, and
2.
personal data subject to professional or special official secrecy, especially tax
secrecy under Section 30 of the German Fiscal Code.
The fundamental right to privacy of correspondence, posts and telecommunications in Article
10 of the Basic Law shall be limited accordingly.
(4) The public bodies of the Federation shall be obligated to provide the Federal
Commissioner and his or her assistants with the following:
1.
access to all official premises at all times, including to any data processing
equipment and means, and to all personal data and all information necessary to perform
their tasks; and
2.
all information necessary to perform their tasks.
The obligation of the first sentence, no. 1 shall apply to private bodies only during their usual
hours of operation and business.
(5) The Federal Commissioner shall work to cooperate with the public bodies responsible for
monitoring compliance with data protection provisions in the Länder and with the supervisory
authorities under Section 40. Section 40 (3), first sentence, second half-sentence, shall apply
accordingly.
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