{
  "id": 6558298,
  "title": "„Schattendatenbank“?: Streit um historische Schufa-Daten: Kritiker wollen klagen",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/schattendatenbank-streit-um-historische-schufa-daten-kritiker-wollen",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-10T07:43:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/schattendatenbank-streit-um-historische-schufa-daten-kritiker-wollen-klagen/100253469.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "A legal dispute over historical data held by the credit bureau Schufa is expected to go to court. The data analytics company Schufa firmly rejected the accusations from the European data protection organization NOYB, and refused to comply with the organization's demands to submit to a cessation of activities by September 9th. The Vienna-based NGO reacted promptly: \"Therefore, it is certain that NOYB will file a cessation of activities suit. Interested parties can also register for a possible collective suit.\" NOYB had formally warned Schufa at the end of August and announced further legal actions. NOYB's president Max Schrems commented: \"The arguments of Schufa are completely ridiculous. It seems that Schufa believes itself to be some sort of demi-god institution that stands above European laws. We are looking forward to putting an end to it.\" The dispute began with reports in mid-July of a \"Dutch data bank\" by Schufa. This data bank allegedly stored historical data, such as information about old loans, attachments or even bankruptcies, which individuals had often already settled years ago. According to data protection rules and the self-imposed deletion periods set by the industry, such data should be deleted after a certain period of time. However, Schufa claims to retain this information for up to ten years. Schufa Chief Tanja Birkholz recently emphasized at the \"Handelsblatt Bank Summit\": \"We have no Dutch data bank. The Schufa is an archive of data like any other company.\" Schufa Holding AG argues that it stores historical data \"precisely to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements.\" The data is retained \"in accordance with statutory provisions and the agreement on storage periods with data protection authorities.\" Historical data is necessary to develop scientifically reliable credit scores (Scores) and to verify their quality. Schufa resisted accusations In a 26-page letter to NOYB, Schufa's lawyers refused to submit to cessation of activities demands. As early as the end of August, Schufa had stressed that it would defend the storage of historical data in court, even if it had to go to the Federal Court again. If data subjects prevail in court, this could have significant financial consequences for the data analytics company. With Schufa reportedly storing creditworthy information for around 68 million individuals, even a modest compensation per person could result in massive claims.",
  "summary": "Darf die Schufa alte Kreditdaten speichern und für ihre Modelle nutzen? Datenschützer fordern die Löschung der Daten, die Schufa hält dagegen. Nun dürfte der Streit vor Gericht landen.",
  "key_points": [
    "Schufa, a credit bureau, denies Dutch data bank allegations",
    "NOYB, European data protection organization, plans to sue Schufa",
    "Historical data retention up to ten years, per industry standards"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Kreditauskunft: Streit um historische Schufa-Daten – Kritiker wollen klagen",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/kreditauskunft-streit-um-historische-schufa-daten-kritiker-wollen",
        "published": "2026-09-10T08:14:48.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}