Germany

BfDI is the independent supreme federal data protection supervisory body of the Federal Republic of Germany, set up in 1978 and at present governed under Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG). Based in Bonn, BfDI acts as an entirely independent federal body responsible for protecting the basic human right to privacy of data and promoting transparency through freedom of information throughout the nation. As per the decentralized nature of German law that vests responsibility for overseeing the private sector in 16 different state authorities, BfDI enjoys exclusive nationwide competence to supervise all federal public authorities and vital telecommunication industry in the country.

These two roles that are performed by the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), include overseeing federal public authorities, telecommunications, and postal services to ensure adherence to the GDPR within the EU, as well as operating as an independent arbitrator through the Federal Freedom of Information Act (IFG). Learn more about their processes on BfDI.