Private individual – €500 Fine (Germany, 2021)

€500Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz1 January 2021Germany
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.

A company employee in Germany was fined for sending sensitive employee data to her personal email without a valid reason. This incident shows the risks of mishandling personal information, even by individuals within a company.

What happened

The employee unlawfully transferred an Excel spreadsheet containing personal data of 56 colleagues to her private email.

Who was affected

The employees whose data was included in the spreadsheet were affected by this unauthorized transfer.

What the authority found

The data protection authority determined that the employee violated data protection rules by transferring personal data without necessity.

Why this matters

This case serves as a reminder for employees to handle personal data carefully and only share it through secure, authorized channels to avoid penalties.

GDPR Articles Cited

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

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Source verified 17 March 2026
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Full Legal Summary
Detailed

The DPA from Brandenburg imposed a three-digit fine on a company employee. The individual had sent an Excel spreadsheet with employee data of 56 employees to her private e-mail address from her official computer, although this was not necessary for her official activities. For this reason, the DPA determined that the employee had unlawfully transferred the other employees' data. The spreadsheet included, in addition to the full names of the employees, an overview of vacation days already taken and remaining, sick days accrued, wage data, overtime worked and social security contributions.

Details

Fine Date

1 January 2021

Authority

Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz

Fine Amount

€500

About this data

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

Cite as: Cookie Fines. Private individual - Germany (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu

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