Privacy policy

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Monopolies Commission. The Monopolies Commission is an independent advisory body consulting the Federal Government and the legislative bodies in the fields of competition policy, competition law and regulation. The tasks are documented in detail in Sec. 44 to 47 as well as Sec. 42 (4) GWB (German Antitrust Act), Sec. 62 EnWG (Energy Industry Act), Sec. 78 ERegG (Railway Regulations Act),  Sec. 44 PostG (Postal Services Act) and Sec. § 121 (2) TKG (Telecommunications Act).

In order to fulfil its statutory mandate, the Monopolies Commission processes personal data in accordance with the requirements of the EU-DGSVO (EU General Data Protection Regulation) and the BDSG (Federal Data Protection Act), in particular to maintain contacts with market participants, decision-makers and interested parties, to exchange information and to make the expert opinions and results of the Monopolies Commission's work known to the general public.

Responsible handling and protection of personal data is a high priority for the Monopolies Commission. We would like users of the websites and interested parties who contact the Monopolies Commission to know when and which data is collected and processed by the Monopolies Commission. The Monopolies Commission has taken technical and organizational measures to ensure that the regulations on data protection are observed both by the members and employees of the Monopolies Commission and by its external service providers.

In the following you will find more detailed information about the handling of personal data by the Monopolies Commission:

  1. Contact details of the responsible body and the data protection officer
  2. Processing of personal data when visiting the websites of the Monopolies Commission and when using communications from the Monopolies Commission on social networks
  3. Processing of personal data when contacting the Monopolies Commission
  4. Processing of personal data when ordering the newsletter
  5. Processing of personal data in data collections for statistical or scientific purposes carried out by the Monopolies Commission
  6. Rights of users with regard to the processing of personal data

 

1. Responsible Body and Data Protection Officer

Responsible for the processing of personal data is

Monopolkommission
Kurt-Schumacher-Strasse 8
D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49-(0)228 338882-0
Central e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The data protection officer can be contacted via the e-mail address:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

2. Processing of personal data when visiting the websites of the Monopolies Commission

We would like to point out that we use cookies when you visit the websites of the Monopolies Commission; at the same time, we would like to inform you about the data protection concerns when using communications of the Monopolies Commission via social networks and about our limitation of liability when using our information offers.

Cookies

On certain pages of the Monopolies Commission cookies are used which are effective until the end of the session. Cookies are small units of information that a provider stores in the main memory of the visitor's computer. A cookie contains a randomly generated unique identification number. In addition, a cookie contains information about its origin and the storage period. These cookies cannot store any other data. The cookies used are deactivated when you end the internet session; the cookies are deleted when you close your web browser. You can display with any browser whether cookies are set and what they contain. Most browsers are set to accept cookies automatically. However, the user can deactivate the storage of cookies or set the browser so that cookies are only stored for the duration of the respective connection to the Internet. Cookies are used to improve the function of the website on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e DSGVO in conjunction with § 3 BDSG to facilitate the information services regarding the public tasks of the Monopolies Commission.

Data protection when using social networks

We expressly draw your attention to the fact that the operators of the social networks Twitter and Facebook, which we also use for communication purposes, permanently store data outside Germany and use those data for business purposes. We do not know to what extent or for how long the data will be stored. You can find out about the processing of data by Twitter and Facebook under the following links:

Twitter Privacy Policy

Facebook Privacy Policy

The Monopolies Commission has no influence on the collection of data and its further use when you use the information offered by the Monopolies Commission via Twitter and Facebook. To what extent, where and for how long the data are stored, to what extent the social networks comply with existing deletion obligations, which evaluations and links are carried out and to whom the data are passed on cannot be ascertained by us. The Monopolies Commission cannot accept any responsibility under applicable data protection laws for this.

The Monopolies Commission takes the discussion about data protection in social networks very seriously. We follow the debate and the audits by the responsible authorities and continuously check whether we can continue to operate our social media presence under the given data conditions.

In the meantime, we also ask you to carefully check which personal data you disclose as a user of Twitter and Facebook. Please also check the settings regularly to protect your privacy.

Disclaimer

The contents of this Internet page and the associated special pages are researched and implemented with the greatest possible care. However, errors cannot be completely ruled out. Therefore, a guarantee for the accuracy, completeness and timeliness can not be given. 

Access to and the use of this website is at the user's own risk. The Monopolies Commission accepts no liability whatsoever for any damage resulting from direct or indirect use of this website.

The Monopolies Commission accepts no responsibility for the content and availability of third-party websites accessed via external links on this website. The responsibility for these external contents remains solely with the third party providing the contents.

The user may store, pass on and reproduce information as well as create links to the homepage of the Monopolies Commission. However, the Monopolies Commission insists that the corresponding website of the Monopolies Commission is the sole component of the browser window. Otherwise, the information may not be altered or falsified. The Monopolies Commission requests that the source be cited when passing on or reproducing the information.

Insofar as this website offers the possibility of entering personal or business data (e-mail addresses, names, addresses etc.), the transmission of such data by the user is expressly voluntary.

 

3. Legal basis for the processing of personal data when contacting the Monopolies Commission

The processing of personal data when contacting the Monopolies Commission depends on the method of contact.

We would like to point out that the processing of data is based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) or Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e) DSGVO in conjunction with § 3 BDSG. The processing of the personal data transmitted by you takes place on the basis of your agreement, which you express by establishing the contact or in formulating an inquiry and is necessary to deal with your request. The processing of personal data is also necessary in order to perform the tasks of the Monopolies Commission in the public interest.

The processing of personal data in connection with an intended or already concluded contract is based on Article 6 para. 1 lit. b) DGSVO.

The data will be stored as long as it is necessary for the processing of your inquiry or the execution of the contract or, if longer storage periods are required by law or internal administrative regulations, until the expiry of the respective storage period.

Contact by e-mail or via the website

In addition to the employees' personal official e-mail addresses the contact with the Monopolies Commission by e-mail is also possible via the central e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The personal data sent to this central address and stored there will be deleted one year after being forwarded to the responsible employees of the Monopolies Commission. The data transmitted by you, but at least the e-mail address and the information contained in the e-mail (including any personal data transmitted by you) will be stored by the employees for the purpose of contacting you and processing your request. The same applies if you write directly to employees of the Monopolies Commission by e-mail.

Contact in writing or by fax

If you contact the Monopolies Commission in writing or if you send a fax, the personal data you provide and the information contained in the letter will be processed by the responsible employees for the purpose of contact and working on your request.

Contact by telephone

If you contact an employee of the Monopolies Commission by telephone, your personal data will be processed by the responsible employees to the extent necessary to work on your request.

 

4. Processing of personal data when ordering the newsletter

If you subscribe to a newsletter via the website of the Monopolies Commission, your e-mail address, date and time of registration will be stored on the server of the Monopolies Commission. The data will be processed on the basis of your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) DSGVO or Art. 6 para. 1 lit. e) in conjunction with § 3 BDSG in order to send you briefings, in particular on the work of the Monopolies Commission, for your information and further use.

We use the transmitted data exclusively for the dispatch of the newsletter and for statistical evaluations of the system performance. We do not pass on your data to third parties who do not act on our behalf for this purpose, nor do we use them for any other purposes of our own.

The registration system using an additional confirmation message containing a link to the final registration ("double opt-in") ensures that the newsletter is explicitly requested by you. When you register, your data will be stored on our server and a confirmation message with a link to the final registration will be  sent to the e-mail address provided. The data will be deleted if you do not confirm the registration by the link in this e-mail within 72 hours. Only after confirmation of the link in the e-mail your data will be stored for the duration of your use of the newsletter offer in order to dispatch the newsletter.

If you no longer agree with the storage of the data for this purpose and therefore no longer wish to use our newsletter service, you can unsubscribe from our newsletters at any time by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or to the address given in the imprint. The data provided by you will then be deleted unless there is a legal obligation to store them for a longer period of time.

 

5. Processing of personal data in data collections for statistical or scientific purposes carried out by the Monopolies Commission

The Monopolies Commission collects data, inter alia, on the business operations of companies for statistical purposes and for scientific evaluations. In this context, the Monopolies Commission interviews companies and stores and processes the name, address, e-mail address, telephone and fax number, access data to the online questionnaire and the department of the responding employees as well as the company name in a database. The storage and processing of these personal data is necessary to facilitate the communication with the interviewed company and the acting employees as well as the handling of the company data. The personal data of the employee are stored and processed in order to fulfill the tasks of the Monopolies Commission in the public interest. The employee's personal data are stored for five years after the completion of the evaluation of the company data and are deleted thereafter.

 

6. Rights of data subjects with regard to the processing of their personal data

In the performance of its public duties, the Monopolies Commission transmits personal data to third parties only to the extent necessary for the execution of contracts and communication with third parties (processing of addresses) as well as for the maintenance and security of the IT infrastructure.

The Monopolies Commission is responsible for the processing of personal data both within the framework of fulfilling public tasks and as a contracting party under civil law. The data subjects therefore have the following rights under the DSGVO at their disposal:

a) Right of access, Art. 15 DSGVO

The right of access gives data subjects full access to their personal data and to some other relevant information, such as the purposes for which the data are processed or the duration of their retention. The exceptions to this right regulated in § 34 BDSG apply.

b) Right to rectification, Art. 16 DSGVO

The right to rectification includes the possibility for data subjects to have inaccurate personal data corrected.

c) Right of cancellation, Art. 17 DSGVO

The right to deletion includes the possibility for data subjects to have their data deleted on the responsible person’s IT infrastructure by the responsible person. However, this is only possible if the personal data are no longer necessary, are processed unlawfully or if the consent has been revoked. The exceptions to this right regulated in § 35 BDSG apply.

d) Right to limitation of processing, Art. 18 DSGVO

The right to limit the processing includes the possibility for data subjects to prevent further processing of their personal data for the time being. A restriction occurs primarily during the examination phase of other rights exercised by the data subjects.

e) Right to data transferability, Art. 20 DSGVO

The right to data transfer includes the possibility for data subjects to obtain personal data in a common, machine-readable format from the responsible person in order to have them forwarded to another person in charge. However, pursuant to Art. 20 para. 3 sentence 2 DSGVO, this right is not available if the data processing serves the performance of public tasks.

f) Right of objection, Art. 21 DSGVO

The right to object includes the possibility for data subjects in a particular situation to object to the further processing of their personal data, unless the processing is justified by the exercise of public functions or public or private interests. According to § 36 BDSG, this right does not apply if a public body is obliged by law to process personal data.

g) Right to revoke consent

If the data processing is carried out on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 lit. a) DGSVO, the data subject may revoke the consent at any time without affecting the legality of the processing carried out on the basis of the consent until revocation.

h) Right of appeal to the Federal Data Protection Commissioner

Anyone concerned can complain to

Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit
Husarenstraße 30
D-53117 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)228-997799-0
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.