GermanyDigitale-Dienste-Gesetz (Digital Services Act Implementation Act), Authorities, Enforcement Powers and Fines
DDG §§ 12-14, 20, 25, 27, 29, 33
In force since .
A transparency and process rule binding public and private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Disclosure, Reporting
As of .
What it requires
- Comply with the articles of the Digital Services Act whose breach section 33(4) and (5) of the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz makes an administrative offence when committed intentionally or negligently (in the case of Article 16(6), repeatedly): Articles 9(1) and (5) first sentence, 10(1), 11(1) and (2) first sentence, 12(1) and (2) first sentence, 13(1) with 13(2), 13(4), 14(2) and (3), 15(1) (also as applied by Article 24(1)), 16(1) and (2), 16(5), 16(6) first sentence, 17(1) with 17(2) first subparagraph second sentence, 17(3) or 17(4), 20(1) with 20(2) or (3), 20(4) second sentence, 20(5) and (6), 21(1) second subparagraph, 22(1), 24(3) first sentence and (5), 25(1), 26(1), (2) and (3), 27(1) and (3), 28(2), 30(1), (3), (5), (6) and (7), 31(1) first subparagraph and (2), 32(1) and (2).
- If you are a person named in Article 51(1) of the Digital Services Act, give the Coordination Office for Digital Services, or the Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz or the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information where competent under section 12(2) and (3), the information it asks for, and tolerate the inspection of business records and entry to premises during normal business hours (section 25(1)).
- When an authority finds that you have not met a Digital Services Act obligation, comment within the reasonable time it sets and remedy the failure within the time it sets or without delay (section 27(2)).
- Comply with an order for the measures needed to ensure compliance that the authority issues under section 27(3) once the period for remedying has passed (section 27(3) and (4)).
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Penalty structure
Section 33(6) and (7): up to 300,000 euros for the offences in section 33(4) and (5) numbers 8, 10 to 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 to 30 and 32, and up to 6 percent of total worldwide turnover for a legal person or association with total turnover above 5 million euros. Section 33(6) and (8): up to 100,000 euros for the offences in section 33(5) numbers 1 to 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 31 and 33, and up to 1 percent of total turnover for a legal person or association with total turnover above 10 million euros. Section 33(6) number 3: up to 50,000 euros for a breach of the information and inspection duties in section 25(1). Section 27(4): a coercive penalty of up to 5 percent of average worldwide daily turnover or income per day to enforce orders.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 300,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 6
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Coordination Office for Digital Services (Koordinierungsstelle für digitale Dienste) in the Bundesnetzagentur, which section 33(10) makes the administrative authority for most offences; the Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz for Article 14(3) of the Digital Services Act; the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information for Articles 26(3) and 28(2) (sections 12 and 33(10)).
What this law does
Section 14(1) sets up a Coordination Office for Digital Services (Koordinierungsstelle für digitale Dienste) in the Bundesnetzagentur, seated in Bonn, to enforce and monitor the Digital Services Act. Section 1(4) defines the Coordination Office as the national coordinator for digital services within the meaning of Article 49(2) of the Digital Services Act.
Section 12(1) makes the Bundesnetzagentur the competent authority under Article 49(1) of the Digital Services Act, subject to paragraphs 2 and 3.
Section 12(2) makes the Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz the competent authority for enforcing Article 14(3) and structural precautionary measures under Article 28(1) of the Digital Services Act, so far as these do not concern measures under the Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, for which the bodies the media laws of the Länder designate are competent.
Section 12(3) makes the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit) the competent authority for enforcing Articles 26(3) and 28(2) and (3) of the Digital Services Act. Section 13 designates the Bundeskriminalamt as the central office that receives information under Article 18(1) and (2) of the Digital Services Act and passes it to the competent prosecuting authority.
Section 20(1) makes the Coordination Office the complainant's point of contact throughout a complaint procedure about an infringement of the Digital Services Act.
Section 25(1) obliges the persons named in Article 51(1)(a) and (c) of the Digital Services Act to provide the information the Coordination Office or the authorities named in section 12(2) and (3) request, and the persons named in Article 51(1)(b) to tolerate the inspection of business records and entry to premises during normal business hours.
Section 27(2) requires an authority that finds a provider of intermediary services in breach of its obligations to ask the provider to comment within a reasonable time and to remedy the breach within a reasonable time or without delay. Under section 27(3) the authority may order the measures needed to ensure compliance where the provider does not meet the request to remedy within the time set.
Section 27(4) allows a coercive penalty (Zwangsgeld) under the Verwaltungsvollstreckungsgesetz of up to 5 percent of the provider's average worldwide daily turnover or daily income in the preceding financial year, calculated from the date named in the warning, to enforce such orders.
Section 29(1) makes the Amtsgericht in whose district the Coordination Office has its seat the competent judicial authority for measures under Article 51(3), first subparagraph, point (b) of the Digital Services Act. Section 33(5) makes it an administrative offence to breach, intentionally or negligently, the articles of the Digital Services Act that it lists.
Section 33(4) makes it an administrative offence to repeatedly fail, contrary to the first sentence of Article 16(6) of the Digital Services Act, to take a decision free of arbitrariness and objectively. Section 33(6) number 1(b) sets a maximum fine of 300,000 euros for the offences in paragraph 4 and in paragraph 5 numbers 8, 10 to 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 to 30 and 32.
Section 33(6) number 2(b) sets a maximum fine of 100,000 euros for the offences in paragraph 5 numbers 1 to 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 31 and 33. Section 33(7) lets the fine for the 300,000 euro group reach 6 percent of total turnover where the offender is a legal person or association with total turnover above 5 million euros.
Section 33(8) lets the fine for the 100,000 euro group reach 1 percent of total turnover where the offender is a legal person or association with total turnover above 10 million euros. Section 33(9) defines total turnover as the sum of all revenue the legal person or association earned worldwide in the financial year before the authority's decision, and allows it to be estimated.
Section 33(2) numbers 3 and 4 make it an administrative offence, intentionally or negligently, to fail to provide the information, or to tolerate the inspection, that section 25(1) requires. Section 33(6) number 3 sets a maximum fine of 50,000 euros for the remaining offences in paragraph 2.
Section 33(10) names the Coordination Office as the administrative authority for the offences in paragraph 4 and in most of paragraph 5, the Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz for paragraph 5 number 6, and the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information for paragraph 5 numbers 23 and 26. Article 37(2) of the enacting act repealed the Telemediengesetz of when it took effect. The Act took effect on .
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