18 Million Euros GDPR fine for Austrian Post Service
The Austrian Post service has to pay a GDPR fine of 18 Million Euros. Thus was the conclusion of the Data Protection Authority in Austria. Besides, the austrian post service has to pay the costs of the investigation (1.8 Million Euros). The company had created profiles of over 3 million Austrian citizens. The collected information ranged from sddress and personal preferences to political interests – these profiles were then sold to Third Parties. The Post service appealed against the penalty. It argues that it is in its interest as a direct marketing company to collect and process this data and that the processing is necessary for their business model. The management hopes that their argumentation lower the fine in later rulings.
Decision data:
29.10.2019
Country:
Austria
Type of Issue:
Illegal data processing
Number of involved data records:
3 Million
Special category of data involved:
Yes
Fine:
€ 18,000,000,-
Violation of GDPR Paragraph:
5. Principles relating to personal data processing
6. Lawfulness of processing
Reference: