Overview
- Saxony’s data protection office, which presented its annual report Tuesday, logged more than 1,600 submissions in 2025, a 29% rise, and a record 1,058 reported data incidents.
- Hesse reported over 6,000 complaints in 2025, up from about 3,840 in 2024, with its commissioner noting many letters were drafted by chatbots and were recognizable by their writing style.
- Problem areas clustered around credit checks and cameras, with Hesse’s Schufa‑related cases jumping to more than 1,600 after notable court rulings and both states flagging illegal private video surveillance of sidewalks and tenant spaces.
- Enforcement actions in Saxony included a €7,500 fine against a restaurant that filmed its dining rooms, outdoor seating, and toilets, and a case where about 3,000 sushi orders with names, addresses, and payment details were publicly accessible online.
- Regulators in both states warned that staffing has not kept pace, handling times are growing, and policy talks on centralizing oversight or changing EU GDPR rules should not weaken core privacy rights.