Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information
| Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | BfDI |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 January 1978 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency (Operations jurisdiction) | Germany |
| Operations jurisdiction | Germany |
| Legal jurisdiction | The BfDI is a completely independent authority not being under any external supervision. |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Agency executive | |
| Website | |
| http://www.bfdi.bund.de | |
The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI, German: Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit), referring to either a person or the agency they lead, is tasked with supervising data protection as well as acting in an ombudsman function in freedom of information. The latter was introduced with the German Freedom of Information Act on 1 January 2006. In 2016, it became an independent federal agency under EU regulations.[1]
Under the motto "Access for one, access for all", the BfDI openly publishes speeches, lectures and documents that have been requested by citizens through Freedom of Information requests.[2]
In 2021, the BfDI was given responsibility for advising and monitoring the Federal Environmental Information Act.[3] In May 2022, the BfDI had the highest relative job growth of all German federal authorities. Between 2017 and 2021, the authority grew by 116%.[4]
In 2024, Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider was elected as Commissioner, succeeding Ulrich Kelber.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Sertan Sanderson (17 June 2015), Commissioner slams data retention policies Deutsche Welle.
- ^ Kaiser, Leon (7 August 2019). "Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragter: Wenn einer ein Dokument hat, sollen alle es haben". netzpolitik.org (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "BfDI - Pressemitteilungen - BfDI erhält Zuständigkeit für Umweltinformationsgesetz". www.bfdi.bund.de (in German). Archived from the original on 27 June 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ Wünschelbaum, Markus. "Datenschutzaufsicht: Droht eine teure Mammutbehörde?". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag - Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider zur Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragten..." Deutscher Bundestag (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information at Wikimedia Commons
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