In the course of consultations for the introduction of model declaratory action, the German Bundestag today also came to an agreement on a resolution on “cease-and-desist” letters.
“This step was really important: Formal warning letters are often an expensive nuisance for companies, and for self-employed and private individuals the demands can be a major threat. We therefore welcome the Bundestag‘s majority vote today,” says Alexander Rabe, Managing Director of eco – Association of the Internet Industry.
Especially in digital space, the problem exists that cease-and-desist letters are easy to produce, and are then very costly for the affected parties. Small and medium-sized enterprises, self-employed people, and private individuals are often so inhibited by the prohibitive costs associated with formal warnings that they fail to fulfil their true potential in the digital world. This effect was seen again most recently with the coming into effect of the General Data Protection Regulation. The coalition parliamentary groups have now become active and are calling for the federal government to present a law for the protection from the abuse of cease-and-desist.
“The motion highlights again that implementing the – in part – very complex stipulations of the General Data Protection Regulation in a legally compliant manner can only be achieved with difficulty, above all by small and medium-sized companies. The supervisory authorities would here be charged with providing support and making practical suggestions. Companies and website operators often do not know whether they are acting compliantly, and the fear of formal warnings involving high fines unfortunately remains immense,” Rabe continues.
German supervisory authorities must now, after the coming into effect of the GDPR, work rapidly on finding a national and Europe-wide interpretation of the regulation, because otherwise, data protection could disintegrate, not only in Germany, but also throughout Europe, the Association of the Internet Industry points out.
