EU Court Delivers Blow to Consumer Credit Rating Firm Schufa

Europe’s top court delivered a blow to Germany’s dominant provider of consumer credit ratings, saying the way it helps businesses decide whether to conclude contracts risks violating European Union privacy rules.

The EU Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation prohibits banks and other businesses from giving Schufa Holding AG’s rating scores “a determining role” in their credit decisions. The court also said that individuals have data deletion rights.

“The verdict forces Schufa to act more responsibly than it has in the past,” the non-governmental organization Finanzwende, which has previously been critical of ...