in accordance with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation for the Ministry for the Environment's pages on social media platforms, as outlined in Article 35(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation
The Ministry for the Environment operates its own online pages (hereinafter referred to as Pages) on the following social media platforms:
- X (formerly twitter) at twitter.com/UmweltBW
- Facebook at facebook.com/environmentMinistryBW
- YouTube at www.youtube.com/UmweltministeriumBW
- Instagram at instagram.com/environment_bw
- Mastodon at xn--baw-joa.social/@environmental ministry
The Ministry for the Environment utilises these Pages within the framework of the state government's constitutional mandate to provide information to citizens about the state government's policies. In this context, the Pages are used by the Ministry for the Environment's Press and Public Relations team to regularly publish their own posts and to respond to any follow-up questions or comments. All staff members are trained in how to publish posts and how to handle questions and comments.
In order to uphold polite and fair standards and to avoid potential legal violations, the Ministry for the Environment has laid out a netiquette governing the use of the Pages.
To ensure access to the Ministry for the Environment's posts is not dependent on prior registration with a social media platform, these posts are also published via other communication channels (such as the Ministry for the Environment's website).
The Ministry for the Environment has also summarised the purposes, type and scope of communication to be undertaken on the Pages in the form of a utilisation concept.
In line with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (hereinafter referred to as GDPR), a data protection impact assessment of the Ministry of State's Pages must be carried out in accordance with Article 35(1) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where a type of processing in particular using new technologies, and taking into account the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing, is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons.
1. Risk identification
The Ministry's own Pages do not themselves pose the risk described in Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) due to the very small scope of their data processing. This is particularly applicable given that the Ministry's own posts primarily involve simply sending content without any personal reference, and that in any communication with other users, only the data that they have voluntarily provided themselves is processed.
However, the use of social media platforms through such Pages has consequences, especially in terms of how the platform operator processes the data for advertising purposes. This constitutes a processing operation with a risk, for which a data protection impact assessment must be carried out.
With this in mind, the impact of the use of social media platforms is assessed as follows:
The risks described above, which are associated with the use of social media platforms, exist in principle independently of the Ministry for the Environment's own use. Also, in the vast majority of cases, the posts the Ministry for the Environment publishes on the Pages themselves do not make reference to personal data, but instead distribute the Ministry's own factual content.
Ultimately, the data processed through interaction with the account in question on social media platforms or other accounts is already publicly accessible or freely available on the Internet.
However, by appearing on the corresponding Page of the Ministry for the Environment and by means of interaction, the content is made available to a broader or more specific public and therefore attracts more attention and achieves wider dissemination than it would have without this interaction.
The fact that the Ministry for the Environment connects with other accounts within social media platforms also creates additional cross-links and information about the account user in question.
Even when users simply read the page without posting, log data is still collected by the platform provider in question. Finally, identity theft, discrimination, damage to reputation, financial loss, disclosure of sensitive data.
2. Risk analysis
The expansion of the distribution circle and the increase of the linking possibilities increase the likelihood of the social media platform operator processing the data for other purposes, including profiling. Furthermore, allowing visitors to post on the Pages can lead to adverse social consequences, such as inappropriate or discriminatory comments or the dissemination of sensitive data.
While the damage may be substantial if caused by the platform operator itself, the extent to which the corresponding Page of the Ministry for the Environment increases this damage is only very limited.
Since the content in question is also published on other social media platforms, there is no obligation to participate in one specific platform.
3. Risk assessment
The criteria by which the risk is assessed are the severity of damage and the probability of occurrence, as described below.
a) Severity of damage | ||||
Degree | Designation of the degree | Severity of consequences/possible damage: Description | Severity of consequences/possible damage: Example | |
1 | Marginal | Those affected may experience some inconvenience, but they can overcome it with some problems. | Immaterial: Mild annoyance Material: Time lost Physical: Passing headaches | |
2 | Manageable | Those affected may experience significant inconvenience, but they can overcome it with some difficulties. | Immaterial: Minor, but objectively verifiable mental health problems Material: Notable personal discomfort Physical: Minor physical harm, such as mild illness | |
3 | Substantial | Those affected may suffer significant consequences that they can only overcome with great difficulty. | Immaterial: Severe mental health problems Material: Financial difficulties Physical: Severe medical conditions | |
4 | Major | Those affected may suffer significant or even irreversible consequences that they cannot overcome. | Immaterial: Permanent, severe mental health problems | |
b) Probability of occurrence | ||||
Degree | Designation of the degree | Probability of occurrence, description | ||
1 | Marginal | According to current expectations, no damage can occur. | ||
2 | Manageable | Damage may occur, but based on experience to date or in light of the given circumstances, it seems unlikely to occur. | ||
3 | Substantial | The occurrence of damage seems possible but, based on experience to date or in light of the given circumstances, not very probable. | ||
4 | Major | The occurrence of damage seems to be possible and highly probable based on experience to date or in light of the given circumstances. | ||
c) Defining the risk | |||
Risk description | Severity of damage | Probability of occurrence | Defining the risk |
Profiling by the platform operators | Manageable | Manageable | Low to medium |
Identity theft | Marginal | Marginal | Low |
Discrimination | Marginal | Marginal | Low |
Damage to reputation | Marginal | Marginal | Low |
Financial loss | Marginal | Marginal | Low |
Disclosure of sensitive data | Marginal | Marginal | Low |
4. Measures to minimise risk
Despite low risks or an isolated risk that can be assessed as medium at most, the Ministry for the Environment actively contributes to further reducing the risk. This includes, in particular, informing users about the relevant General Privacy Declaration of the Ministry for the Environment.
However, a large part of any risk minimisation measures primarily lies within the sphere of the user. As such, when using social media platforms, users are under no obligation to give their real name or to identify themselves in any other way. Users are also primarily responsible for the publication of their own enquiries or comments. In addition, users can protect themselves by applying various settings, such as deleting their browsing history, deactivating cookies or not sharing their location when using photos.
In addition, continuous editorial monitoring enables the Ministry for the Environment to intervene in the event of any defamatory or derogatory comments, up to and including blocking the account of the "offending" user.
The Ministry for the Environment has also issued a netiquette for the use of its services, and the Page is monitored to ensure adherence with this.
5. Result
The Pages of the Ministry for the Environment on the aforementioned social media platforms are justifiable in view of the risks described and the binding measures planned.
The Ministry for the Environment also undertakes to monitor developments and, if necessary, to repeat the assessment or undertake further development measures.