Former mayor of a community – €5,000 Fine (Belgium, 2020)

€5,000Autorité de Protection des Données7 September 2020Belgium
overturned
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.

A former mayor in Belgium was fined for sending election ads to citizens without having a legal reason to use their data. However, the fine was overturned by the Brussels Court of Appeal, showing that legal decisions can be challenged and changed.

What happened

The former mayor sent election advertisements to citizens without a legal basis.

Who was affected

Citizens who received election advertising from the former mayor.

What the authority found

Initially, the Belgian authority fined the mayor for lacking a legal basis to process personal data, but the fine was later overturned by the court.

Why this matters

This case illustrates the complexities of data protection enforcement and the possibility of appealing fines. It serves as a reminder to politicians and public figures to ensure they have a legal basis for using personal data in campaigns.

GDPR Articles Cited

Art. 5 GDPR
Art. 6 GDPR
Full Legal Summary
Detailed

Originial fine summary: Sending election advertising to citizens without sufficient legal basis. Update: On January 27th, 2021, the Brussels Court of Appeal overturned the fine of EUR 5,000.

Related Enforcement Actions (0)

No other enforcement actions found for Former mayor of a community in BE

This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.

Details

Fine Date

7 September 2020

Authority

Autorité de Protection des Données

Fine Amount

€5,000

Enforcement Tracker ID

ETid-403

About this data

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

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Former mayor of a community - Belgium (2020). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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