Due to a new EU confidentiality law, the administration of a Bavarian town has forbidden children from hanging letters to Santa Claus on the Christmas tree
As "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, the problem is that children write not only their wishes but also their name, age, and address – after all, Weihnachtsmann must know who and where to bring the gift! However, in accordance with the EU law "On the Protection of Personal Data" (EU-Datenschutz-Grundverordnung, DSGVO), local authorities must first obtain written permission from the parents of each child who wants to hang their letter on the tree placed in a public place, and ensure that the parents understand that their family's contact details may become accessible to third parties.
For this reason, as early as the first ten days of November, the Roth city hall announced that "the traditional wish letter campaign (Wunschzettel-Aktion) is canceled this year." As stated in the town administration's message relayed by regional radio station Antenne Bayern, "unfortunately, this year the traditional Christmas wish letter campaign has turned into a bureaucratic act. The city hall is working on finding an acceptable solution, but its implementation will not be possible until next year." According to the city council's legal advisor, "the Brussels red tape left us no choice, otherwise there is a risk of a large fine."
Fortunately, the people at Antenne Bayern are not indifferent! After consulting with lawyers, its staff compiled a "wish letter" form compatible with DSGVO requirements (it includes a field where one of the parents of the young senders must sign). A sample form can be downloaded from the radio station's website. As the organizer of the "rescue campaign," Antenne Bayern moderator Stefan Meixner said in this regard, "now every child in Roth can download, print, and fill out their wish letter and hang it on the Christmas tree. We are happy that we were able to save a good tradition and bring the sparkle back to children's eyes."
Meanwhile, the Munich office of the European Commission hastened to shift the blame from Brussels lawmakers to the Roth administration: "The city administration misunderstood the new data protection rules," the newspaper Die Welt quotes the official statement from the office. "It directly states: 'Under no circumstances should you ban wish letter campaigns at Christmas.' If parents agree, the family's contact details may be provided. Such rules have existed for 20 years. The new DSGVO rules did not change this provision."