Germany · de.indymedia · · 54m
New Federal Data Protection Commissioner: “Neither particularly harsh, nor particularly lax, but balanced”
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Moritz Hennemann has been in office for a few days, and today he spoke out about his priorities for the first time. He found praise for data protection reform projects, but criticized the federal government's plans to expand secret services and undermine freedom of information.
Moritz Hennemann has been the new Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) since the end of September. The 41-year-old lawyer succeeds Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider, who resigned from the position for health reasons. Hennemann was proposed by the Union faction andhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/moritz-hennemann-neuer-bundesrechner-f...Elected by the Bundestag in June.
He takes office in tense times. Data protection policy has been a hotly debated topic for a while now. In Germany there is the black-red coalitionhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/reformpaket-schwarz-rot-will-99-prozent-der...“in the sense of the economy”announced that far-reaching changes will be made in the EU as part of thehttps://netzpolitik.org/tag/digitaler-omnibus/">Digital Omnibus packagealready specifically negotiated. While at the end of the Merkel era and in the traffic light years, the federal government switched to a data strategy that...https://netzpolitik.org/2021/datenstrategie-der-bundesregierung-die-rich...of data protection and data usepostulated, the signs are now back on onehttps://netzpolitik.org/2025/datenschutzreform-kommen-der-kahlschlag/">Rdismantling data protection.
Just a few days ago, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said that Germany must finally have its ownhttps://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/bundeskanzler-made-for-...“Raise data treasure”in order to remain competitive – not just a rhetorical throwback to the 2010s. Business associations continually complain about data protection as a bureaucratic nuisance. At the same time, research shows how the award-winning oneshttps://netzpolitik.org/databroker-files/">Databroker Filesfrom netzpolitik.org and Bayerischer Rundfunkthat there are also difficulties in enforcement and that the supposed “gold standard” General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fails in this regard.
In the coalition agreement, the Union and the SPD considered adding the addition “for data use” to the office of the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. Many in the black-red coalition consider Moritz Hennemann to be the right candidate for this. In his previous work as a university professor, the legal scholar did a lot of research into the importance of data for innovation and business.
Today the lawyer was in the city for the first timehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2eLlpRmJJc">Federal Press Conferenceas a guest. There he presented his agenda and answered questions from journalists. A few observations:
- Digital sovereignty and state modernization as priorities:When it comes to the priorities for his term of office, the new BfDI primarily mentioned strengthening the community's digital sovereignty, supporting the modernization of the state and strategically forward-looking support for technological advances. Data protection provides “guardrails” on how this can be done in a legally secure manner. His aim is to “enable innovation and at the same time effectively protect fundamental rights”.
- Criticism of secret service reform:A few weeks ago, the black-red coalition presented a comprehensive reform of secret service law, which is to be passed this year. Part of the reform includes comprehensive new powers for the Federal Intelligence Service and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as well as a reorganization of their democratic control. Among other things, the BfDI's previous supervisory powers are to be withdrawn. Hennemann repeated this herehttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/stellungnahme-zur-geheimdienstreform-ein-e...Consider, which was asserted by his predecessor Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider.
- Balanced supervisory role:When asked about carrying out his supervisory role, Hennemann said that he wanted it to be “neither particularly harsh nor particularly lax, but rather balanced”. Data protection law provides for a balance between data use and guardrails, which also means that certain types of processing are not permitted. The lawyer described his ideal vision as follows: “Data traffic flows well, but according to rules.” However, he recalled that the supervision of the economy has so far rested predominantly with the state data protection authorities.
- Openness to centralization of supervision:The federal government is aiming to consolidate economic supervision at the BfDI. He finds this “expedient,” says Hennemann, but in this case he expects a corresponding increase for his authority. Even so, he remains the samehttps://netzpolitik.org/2025/interview-mit-der-bundesdatenschutzbeauftra...his predecessor Louisa Specht-Riemenschneiderfaithful. However, the federal states and the state data protection authorities reject the centralization of supervision over the economy. Instead, they would rather take measures to improve supervision within the existing federal structure.
- Praise for GDPR reform:Hennemann expressed “great understanding” that the General Data Protection Regulation should be reformed after ten years. It must become “more understandable and practical”. He expressly welcomes the debate about the EU's digital omnibus and a data code in Germany. Specifically, he hopes, for example, that legal uncertainties regarding AI training will be eliminated. Legal users need clarity here in order to increase the innovation potential of the technology.https://netzpolitik.org/2026/digitale-enteignung-datenschuetzer-warnen-v...civil society organizationsThe solution currently being discussed as part of the Digital Omnibus was not an issue. In principle, Hennemann was open to the idea of graduated regulation, in which data-intensive business models are regulated more strictly and low-risk business models are regulated more loosely.
Need for action by data brokers:When asked, the lawyer also mentioned areas where data protection needs to be tightened up: for example, data transfers to third parties outside of Europe that violate data protection regulations and the data trading business model. “I'm thinking, for example, of cases of major data broker scandals, which were also reported, and there is certainly still a need for action,” said Hennemann. His predecessor also repeatedly made the data broker problem uncovered by netzpolitik.org and Bayerischer Rundfunk a topic and also contributed to the debate with legal policy suggestions.- Criticism of IFG reform:As BfDI, Hennemann is also responsible for the issue of freedom of information. The black-red coalition had announced reforms that were criticized by many as an attack on the Freedom of Information Act. The lawyer partly agreed with this criticism. He understands that existing exceptions for the military and security could be made more specific. However, the proposals discussed went far beyond this and amounted “in part to an erosion of the right to freedom of information”.
- Demand for transparency law:Instead of reducing freedom of information, Hennemann would like to see transparency expanded. It would also be in the interests of data use if open data were promoted by the state, for example in the form of a transparency law.
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