In its reply to written question P-000206/2026 submitted by MEP Christine Anderson, the European Commission clarified that purely administrative and non-journalistic activities of public broadcasters, such as the collection of the broadcasting fee, are fully subject to European data protection law. Such processing does not fall under the journalistic exemption in Article 85 GDPR, but is instead subject to the strict requirements of wholly independent supervision under Articles 51-52 GDPR and Article 8(3) of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
ESN Member of the European Parliament Christine Anderson (AfD) stated:
“ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio are not subject to oversight by the general state data protection authorities, but have instead established their own separate, sector-specific parallel system. Under European law, such a model can only be valid if it meets the same requirements of objectivity, impartiality, freedom from external influence, and structural independence as a conventional data protection authority.
I have serious doubts that this is the case. Oversight is exercised by bodies appointed by the broadcasting councils themselves, while at the same time funding is provided through the budget of the respective broadcaster, without the broadcasting data protection officer being granted powers to impose fines. This raises questions about actual structural independence and the effectiveness of enforcement. I advise all broadcasting fee payers to demand clarity from ARD and ZDF regarding the protection of their personal data. Under the GDPR, fee payers have clear and enforceable rights to access, rectification, complaint to the competent supervisory authority, and judicial redress.
If the European requirements for structurally independent and effective data protection supervision are not met, this could result in consequences under Union law. In such a case, action by the European Commission, including the possibility of infringement proceedings, would also be conceivable.”
