Hamburg data regulator says Zoom incompatible with GDPR

The software is not compatible with GDPR as it is associated with the transfer of personal data to the US, the Hamburg commissioner for data protection and freedom of information (HmbBfDI) claimed.

In 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that the EU-US ‘privacy shield’ data transfer arrangement, a previous mechanism for transferring personal data between the US and European countries, was invalid.

The HmbBfDI said documents submitted by the city government, the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (FHH), show that it is not adhering to standards set by the European Data Protection Committee in order to transfer data to a third country in line with GDPR.

Ulrich Kühn, acting Hamburg commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, said in a statement: "Public bodies are particularly bound to comply with the law. It is therefore more than regrettable that such a formal step had to be taken."