On infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation arising from the use of lie detectors  

Petition addressed to: Petitionsausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments

The petitioner calls for the use of lie detectors to be made illegal. In support of this, he argues that, in the light of the case-law of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) on lie detectors, the use of such personality analysis software is not lawful. Nor can its use be justified by the consent of the data subject. First, individuals are not aware of the far-reaching scope for analysis and the consequences of such tests. Secondly, in the absence of an absolute prohibition, there is indirect pressure to grant consent, for example when applying for a job or seeking insurance cover. This effectively means that people have no free choice. In the absence of a prohibition, the constitutionally guaranteed protection of informational self-determination cannot be enforced either.