Vodafone España, S.A.U. – €40,000 Fine (Spain, 2021)

€40,000Agencia Española de Protección de Datos13 October 2021Spain
reduced
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.

Vodafone España, S.A.U. faced a fine after a woman received phone bills meant for someone else in her email. The company failed to respond to her concerns, which led to the investigation. This case serves as a reminder for businesses to handle personal data carefully and respond to customer inquiries promptly. The fine was reduced to €40,000 due to voluntary payment.

What happened

Vodafone España, S.A.U. sent telephone bills belonging to a third party to a woman's email address without her consent.

Who was affected

The woman who received the incorrect bills was affected by the company's mishandling of personal data.

What the authority found

The Spanish DPA found that Vodafone violated GDPR rules by not ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of personal data.

Why this matters

This case underscores the need for companies to implement strong security measures and respond to customer complaints effectively. Businesses should regularly assess their data handling practices to prevent similar incidents.

GDPR Articles Cited

AI-verified

Art. 32(GDPR)
Art. 5(1)(f) GDPR
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Art. 5(1) f) GDPR
Art. 32(GDPR)

Original data from scraper before AI verification against source document.

Source verified 12 March 2026
national law identified
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The Spanish DPA has imposed a fine on Vodafone España, S.A.U.. A woman filed a complaint against the controller based on the fact that the controller had sent telephone bills belonging to a third party to her e-mail address. After bringing this to the attention of the controller, she received no response. Thereupon, she contacted the controller by telephone in this regard. However, none of the employees were able to help her with this concern. The DPA concluded that the controller had violated the principle of integrity and confidentiality set out in Art. 5 (1) f) GDPR, and that the controller had failed to implement technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk to the data subjects. The original fine of EUR 50,000 was reduced to EUR 40,000 due to voluntary payment.

Related Enforcement Actions (20)

Other enforcement actions involving Vodafone España, S.A.U. in ES

Current
Oct 2021

Fine

€40K

Details

Fine Date

13 October 2021

Authority

Agencia Española de Protección de Datos

Fine Amount

€40,000

Enforcement Tracker ID

ETid-870

About this data

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

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Vodafone España, S.A.U. - Spain (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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