OLG Naumburg deems GDPR violation an antitrust infringement

The OLG Naumburg ruled in judgments from November 7, 2019 that a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation may also constitute an antitrust infringement (Az.: 9 U 6/19 and 9 U 39/18).

Whether a GDPR violation can also constitute an antitrust infringement is significant, as competitors are entitled to issue formal warnings in response to antitrust infringements and may, e.g., sue for an injunction or damages. We at MTR Rechtsanwälte note that the courts have to date arrived at different conclusions on this issue.

The OLG Naumburg recently ruled that GDPR provisions can be categorized as rules governing market behavior and that violating them may constitute an antitrust infringement.

In the case in question, a pharmacist had sued a competitor offering nonprescription medicinal products via an online platform which were only to be sold by pharmacies. The plaintiff viewed this as an antitrust infringement, claiming that personal health information was being saved in the process, which it noted is only permissible with the customer’s explicit consent.

The OLG Naumburg held that due to the absence of explicit consent here, this constituted a GDPR violation as well as an antitrust infringement of the rules governing market behavior.

Lawyers with experience in the field of antitrust and competition law can offer advice.

https://www.mtrlegal.com/en/legal-advice/competition-law.html