With this ruling, the Federal Administrative Court confirmed the substance of a penalty decision by the data protection authority, but reduced the fine imposed.
The data protection authority imposed a fine for unlawful processing of personal data. The responsible person uploaded a traffic accident – recorded by him – on the platform “Youtube”. On this video, the license plates of a party involved in the accident as well as uninvolved vehicles were visible. The responsible person argued that he wanted to send the video via link to the Ministry of Interior as evidence.
The BVwG did note that the video was uploaded to Youtube as “private”. However, it is still processing (disclosure by dissemination). Processing was not necessary in the result, as not the most gentle means. The video could also have been transmitted to the Ministry of Interior by means of a DVD. The license plates should also have been made unrecognizable.
The BVwG further held that the sentence in the penalty decision is sufficiently determined with regard to the place of the offense (main residence, but in any case in Austria). There were no indications that the crime was not committed in Austria. The specific designation of a place in the federal territory was not necessary for the protection of the defendant’s rights of defense, nor is there any danger of double jeopardy.
The penalty was reduced because there was no intent, but negligence.
The BVwG declared the appeal admissible.