Data protection scandal: Deutsche Bahn in court for data abuse!

Data protection scandal: Deutsche Bahn in court for data abuse!

Landgericht Frankfurt am Main, Deutschland - On May 19, 2025, a significant trial will take place before the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court, which focuses on the data protection practices of Deutsche Bahn (DB). Consumer advocates of DigitalCourage e.V. complain against the DB for considerable data protection violations that affect millions of people. The lawsuit is a civil lawsuit that was submitted in October 2022 after Digitalcourage e.V. provided an ultimatum to remedy the defects. The hearing begins at 11.30 a.m.

The controversial "DB Navigator" app, which is used for train information, ticket bookings and ABYCHE, has over 80 million downloads. Despite their free use, it is criticized that user data such as the number of travelers, the departure day and the start and destination station are passed on to third parties. The app contains trackers that monitor user behavior without giving it expressly consent.

data protection concerns and consumer rights

Digitalcourage e.V. emphasizes that Deutsche Bahn violates the use of these trackers against the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act (TTDSG). The data protection officers criticize that users have no way of contradicting data transfer and that the railway enables the transfer of information to up to ten companies, including Google and Adobe. According to the consumer advocates, this leads to a "digital compulsion", since for many travelers an alternative to use the app is not available.

The Stiftung Warentest has confirmed the allegations and criticizes that the DB Navigator app transmits more data than is necessary for ticket allocation. While Deutsche Bahn argues that some data is essential for the ticket selection, consumer advocates criticize the superfluous data transfer as disproportionate.

statement by Deutsche Bahn

Deutsche Bahn explains that it only uses the data collected in accordance with the legal regulations. It also indicates that consent to data processing would be necessary to maintain the functionalities of the app. However, experts argue that the need for data to use the app is not convincing and that alternatives to protect user data should be created.

The debate about data security does not only want to maintain Digitalcourage e.V. in the context of the railway, but also strengthen the basic consumer rights. Padeluun, co -founder of digital courage, has appeared as a plaintiff and criticizes the forced use of the app. Attorney Peter Hense, who represents Padeluun, is convinced that DB's practices violate applicable data protection laws.

Next Monday will be shown how the court will decide on these important questions and which measures may be taken for the future of data processing in public transport. The negotiation could not only have an impact on Deutsche Bahn, but also on other providers in the field of public services.

For more information about the allegations of Deutsche Bahn, readers can read the articles on Merkur and data security.de