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

€40,000Agencia Española de Protección de Datos19 October 2021Spain
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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 was fined for unlawfully processing a customer's data when they charged him for a phone line that belonged to his ex-partner. The company could not prove that they had permission to use his information. This case highlights the importance of verifying consent before processing personal data.

What happened

Vodafone España charged a customer for a phone line that was registered under his ex-partner's name without proper consent.

Who was affected

The customer who was wrongly charged and had his personal data processed without authorization.

What the authority found

The Spanish DPA ruled that Vodafone unlawfully processed the customer's data, violating GDPR's lawfulness principle.

Why this matters

This case underscores the necessity for companies to ensure they have valid consent before handling personal data. Businesses should implement strict verification processes to avoid similar issues.

GDPR Articles Cited

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Art. 6(1) GDPR
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Art. 6(1) GDPR

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Source verified 12 March 2026
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Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The Spanish DPA (AEPD) has fined Vodafone España, S.A.U. EUR 40,000. An individual had filed a complaint with the DPA against Vodafone for debiting his bank account in May 2020 for a Vodafone telephone line whose owner was not him but his ex-partner. As it turned out, the complainant's ex-partner had concluded a contract with Vodafone in his name. She stated that she was authorized to do so, but did not provide any proof of this. The DPA found that Vodafone had unlawfully processed the complainant's data. Indeed, compliance with the principle of lawfulness in the processing of third party data requires that the controller is able to prove lawfulness.

Related Enforcement Actions (20)

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

Current
Oct 2021

Fine

€40K

Details

Fine Date

19 October 2021

Authority

Agencia Española de Protección de Datos

Fine Amount

€40,000

Enforcement Tracker ID

ETid-881

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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