GIE INFOGREFFE – €250,000 Fine (France, 2022)

€250,000Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés13 September 2022France
final
Fine

General GDPR enforcement action

This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.

GIE INFOGREFFE was fined for keeping user passwords in plain text and not deleting personal data when it was supposed to. This is important because it shows that companies must protect user information and follow their own privacy policies. Small businesses should regularly review their data handling practices to avoid similar issues.

What happened

GIE INFOGREFFE stored user passwords in plain text and kept personal data longer than allowed.

Who was affected

Users of the GIE INFOGREFFE website, including members and subscribers, were affected by the mishandling of their personal data.

What the authority found

The French DPA ruled that GIE INFOGREFFE violated GDPR by failing to delete personal data after the specified retention period and not securing passwords properly.

Why this matters

This ruling emphasizes that companies must implement strong data protection measures and adhere to their own data retention policies. It serves as a reminder for businesses to prioritize user privacy and security.

GDPR Articles Cited

AI-verified

Art. 32(GDPR)
Art. 5(1)(e) GDPR
View original scraped data
Art. 5(1) e) GDPR
Art. 32(GDPR)

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

Source verified 10 March 2026
verified correct
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The French DPA has imposed a fine of EUR 250,000 on GIE INFOGREFFE. The portal operates a website where people can access legal information about companies and order documents certified by the commercial courts. As part of its investigation, the DPA found that the personal data of 25% of members and subscribers, such as bank details, surnames, first names, addresses and telephone numbers, were kept for longer than intended (36 months). The DPA considered this to be a violation of Art. 5 (1) e) GDPR. In addition, the DPA found that the portal did not require the use of a secure password when creating an account, resulting in 3.7 million accounts not having a sufficiently secure password. Furthermore, the portal transmitted passwords that allowed access to accounts unencrypted via email. Besides, the portal also stored the passwords and secret questions and answers used during the process of resetting passwords by users in a database without encryption. For this reason, the DPA found that the portal had failed to implement adequate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data.

Details

Fine Date

13 September 2022

Authority

Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés

Fine Amount

€250,000

Enforcement Tracker ID

ETid-1382

About this data

Data: CMS GDPR Enforcement Tracker
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
AI-verified and classified

Cite as: Cookie Fines. GIE INFOGREFFE - France (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

Report Inaccuracy

Last updated: