VG Berlin - 42 K 25/25
German court orders Jehovah's Witnesses to provide members access to personal data.
A German court has ruled that a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation must provide former members with access to their personal data, specifically a copy of an introductory letter sent to their new congregation. The court rejected the congregation's argument that religious confidentiality laws justified withholding the information, emphasizing the primacy of EU law and GDPR's right of access provisions.
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The lesson from this incident
Full lessonA Berlin court ruled that a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation unlawfully withheld personal data from a former member by citing religious confidentiality as justification. The ruling underscores that EU law — specifically GDPR Article 15 (Right of Access) — supersedes domestic religious privilege claims in most data access scenarios. Organizations, including religious bodies, cannot selectively apply GDPR exemptions without a clear, proportionate legal basis. This matters because individuals have a fundamental right to know what personal data is held about them and how it is being used, regardless of the type of organization processing it.