Section 28, (6) of the BDSG (German Federal Data Protection Act): (6) The collection, processing and use of special types of personal data (Section 3 (9)) for

Section 28, (6) of the BDSG (German Federal Data Protection Act): (6) The collection, processing and use of special types of personal data (Section 3 (9)) for own commercial purposes shall be admissible when the data subject has not consented in accordance with Section 4a (3) if (...) 4. this is necessary for the purposes of scientific research, where the scientific interest in carrying out the research project substantially outweighs the data subject's interest in excluding collection, processing and use and the purpose of the research cannot be achieved in any other way or would otherwise necessitate disproportionate effort. --- https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bdsg/englisch_bdsg.html#p0383 https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bdsg/englisch_bd... --- IANAL. Everyone may draw their own conclusions.