In episode 196 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the 75th anniversary of the Federal Constitutional Court, the new Federal Data Protection Commissioner Moritz Hennemann, and a recent Federal Court of Justice ruling on the media privilege under the GDPR.
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Federal Constitutional Court, Härting and Brink take a critical look at the work of the judges in Karlsruhe. Among other things, they discuss rulings made during the COVID-19 pandemic, the high thresholds for admissibility of constitutional complaints, and the court’s approach to freedom of information.
The pair then turn their attention to Moritz Hennemann, who took up the post of Federal Data Protection Commissioner on 1 October 2026. They discuss his professional background, his previous publications and his first public statements in his new role.
Finally, Härting and Brink discuss a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) dated 29 September 2026 (VI ZR 402/24). The focus is on the media privilege under Article 85 of the GDPR and its significance for the processing of personal data by the press. The case stems from a legal dispute involving the singer Helene Fischer.