Bavarian watchdog allows father to report school parking violations

A Bavarian data protection authority has ruled that a Munich father may continue photographing illegally parked cars outside his child’s primary school and reporting them to police, BR reported. He must still follow rules, though the authority did not detail them.

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (LDA) closed its investigation after a complaint from a driver who had been reported. It said private individuals can report parking violations without facing heightened data protection requirements. The father’s reports are covered by the General Data Protection Regulation’s household exemption, the office said.

The case concerned cars parked outside a primary school in Trudering, a district of Munich. The LDA said it had to consider how the father used the photographs, including whether he stored or reused them. It decided in his favour because he was personally affected: his child attends the school.

The German Environmental Aid Association (DUH), which provided legal support to the father, welcomed the outcome. It had accused the authority of trying to intimidate him with excessive data protection requirements and said the decision could affect other citizens who document possible violations and report them to authorities.