There is great outrage in Munich: a 45-year-old man who called the drivers of so-called Parent taxis in front of the elementary school who reported his children is now in trouble himself – not with the police, but with Bavarian data protection officers. “Harassment by state authorities?” is the headline Evening newspaper already. There is always talk of a “farce”. The fact that the parents’ dispute actually became such is also due to the fact that the German Environmental Aid (DUH) took on the matter – and made it quite high.
The DUH speaks of “attempts at intimidation” by a Bavarian state authority and promises to support the man who ultimately demonstrated “civil courage”. The DUH claims that the State Office for Data Protection Supervision (LDA) imposed requirements that made it virtually impossible to report illegal parking. For example, citizens must provide a website that provides information about data processing.
Die DUH press release Sounds like huge fines that the father of three is threatened with, like a Bavaria-wide illegal parking mafia that has infiltrated the LDA in order to put a stop to everyone who takes action against illegal parking. DUH Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch assumes that an attempt is being made to “criminalize private involvement”: “If the Bavarian data protection authority had its way, in the future you would no longer even be allowed to photograph a criminal in the act without first informing him of his right to object.”
Back to the parent taxis: The situation is well known: Many parents – partly out of concern for their safety – bring their children to school by car, often in bulky SUVs, contrary to all recommendations, clogging up the streets in front of the schools and sometimes becoming a safety risk themselves. Quite a few people can understand the anger of Andreas Roßband, the father in question, who takes his children to school on his bike and is repeatedly hindered by illegally parked limousines.
Bulk upload ads
But Roßband no longer wanted to focus on that urban parking enforcement abandoned: He took photo after photo of illegally parked vehicles. He sent the pictures to the police or public order office – directly or via the weg.li platform. This makes it super easy to report fellow citizens breaking traffic rules: upload a picture, describe the violation, report it to the public order office. “You can create individual reports,” writes weg.li, “or upload a whole batch of photographic evidence as a mass upload.”
The Germany-wide platform sets itself – and its users – ambitious goals: it should be 8,000 ads per week. Bars show how far the self-appointed deputies are from the target.
It is no longer possible to say how many pictures Roßband actually took and sent, but he took photographs regularly. According to the LDA, there were 21 advertisements on weg.li in one day alone. And it is also the high number of reports that has ensured that the LDA – after a complaint from one of the affected drivers – is now dealing with the case.
Because Anyone who collects, stores and processes large amounts of personal data such as license plates must take certain precautions to protect this data. According to a spokeswoman for the authority, we are currently checking whether this has happened sufficiently. You didn’t take action on your own. But in response to complaints, it is imperative to examine them. It is not a case of fine proceedings, which could theoretically be initiated – but this is rather unusual for private individuals.
LDA sees itself as being unfairly attacked
What is important when checking is how many pictures Roßband took – and whether the GDPR even applies here or whether taking photos should still be viewed as “private”. It is also important whether the man deleted the photos immediately after sending them, because many specifications only become relevant as soon as data is recorded. According to DUH, Roßband deleted the photos immediately, but apparently not according to the complainant.
Contrary to what the DUH stated, no requirements or orders have been made yet, the LDA says and it is still being examined. In general, it feels that it is being unfairly attacked. Above all, the authority rejects the accusation of attempted intimidation: “It shows an irritating misunderstanding of official conditions for action in the constitutional state and discredits the work of our authority.”
According to the LDA, the fact that the review has not yet been completed is also due to the fact that there have now been further complaints – probably as a result of the media attention initiated by the DUH. Whatever the outcome, the DUH is determined to continue its fight against the authority: “Following the hearing, a decision will be issued and Mr. Roßband will file a lawsuit against it with our help,” said a spokesman.
However, the Robin Hood from the east of Munich can already claim a victory: Unlike him, those reported by him will probably not get away without a fine. According to the Munich Police Headquarters, submitted photographic information is always checked and – if an administrative offense is determined – reported.