At the end of October 2019, the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information imposed a fine of about EUR 14.5 million against a German residential real estate company for various violations of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The fine is not yet legally binding but, reportedly, has been appealed. However, irrespective of the outcome of the appeal, the sanctioning measures taken by the Berlin Data Protection Commissioner show that GDPR compliance must be taken seriously by all companies in the real estate industry. This GT Alert covers the following:

  • Relevance for and Impact on the Real Estate Industry
  • Relevance of fine extends beyond residential real estate companies
  • The decision of the Berlin Data Protection Commissioner
  • Paradigm shift in the calculation of fines

Click here to read the full GT Alert.

Tags: GT Insight
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Photo of Dr. Viola Bensinger Dr. Viola Bensinger

Viola Bensinger is Global Co‑Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Group and also chairs the Technology Practice in Germany. Viola advises clients from the technology, media, health care and other innovation-driven industries on digitisation projects, IT outsourcing, cloud computing, e‑commerce…

Viola Bensinger is Global Co‑Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Group and also chairs the Technology Practice in Germany. Viola advises clients from the technology, media, health care and other innovation-driven industries on digitisation projects, IT outsourcing, cloud computing, e‑commerce, electronic payment, data protection, and software licensing.

She has wide-ranging experience in advising media and entertainment clients such as distributors, producers, broadcasters, digital platforms, publishers, and their contracting partners on licensing and distribution, as well as the legal set-up of digital platforms. Viola also advises clients on regulatory issues, especially with regard to broadcasting law, data protection, and AI regulation.

In her litigation practice, Viola represents clients at courts or arbitration panels in contract disputes, copyright and other litigation. For many years, Viola has also gained broad experience in the areas of insolvency and restructuring relating to IP assets and licensing agreements and has advised numerous clients in large-scale insolvency proceedings relating to their German business partners.

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Photo of Carsten A. Kociok Carsten A. Kociok

Carsten Kociok is a partner in the Technology, Financial Services and Data Privacy Practice in Berlin and Co-Head of Greenberg Traurig’s global Fintech Group. He advises national and international clients across all industries, including financial services, information technology, artificial intelligence, ecommerce, media, health

…

Carsten Kociok is a partner in the Technology, Financial Services and Data Privacy Practice in Berlin and Co-Head of Greenberg Traurig’s global Fintech Group. He advises national and international clients across all industries, including financial services, information technology, artificial intelligence, ecommerce, media, health care, telecoms, retail and real estate, on a wide variety of complex commercial and regulatory matters.

Carsten is a leading technology lawyer, ranked consistently in Band 1 for Fintech Legal in Germany since 2020. He has in-depth and wide-ranging experience in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity, payments law, financial services, e-money products, blockchain technology, and financial and banking regulation, as well as in artificial intelligence regulation – including compliance with the EU AI Act – and the integration of AI technologies into existing software systems.

Carsten regularly assists clients in licensing projects and audit proceedings with financial regulators and advises on the contractual and regulatory aspects of developing, implementing and operating financial technology products and transactions.

On the data privacy side, Carsten counsels clients on complex data-driven business models and regulatory matters, including on international data transfers, data privacy compliance, monetization of data, artificial intelligence, litigation, cybersecurity and data breach response.

Carsten regularly lectures and publishes on various FinTech and data privacy topics. Prior to joining the firm, Carsten worked at Olswang Germany for eight years and in the Capital Transaction Practice Group of an international law firm in New York.

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