notebooksbilliger.de – €10,400,000 Fine (Germany, 2021)

The DPA of Lower Saxony (LfD Niedersachsen) imposed a fine of EUR 10,4 million on the electronics retailer notebooksbilliger.de.The company had video-monitored its employees for at least two years without having a legal basis for doing so. Among others, the cameras covered workplaces, sales areas, warehouses and recreation areas. The company stated that the purpose of the installed video cameras was to prevent and investigate criminal acts and to track the movement of goods in the warehouses. However, to prevent theft, a company must first consider milder methods. Moreover, video surveillance to detect criminal acts is only permitted if there is a reasonable suspicion against specific persons. If this is the case, it may be permissible to monitor them with cameras for a limited period of time. At notebooksbilliger.de, however, the video surveillance was neither limited to a specific period nor to specific employees. In addition, the recordings were stored for 60 days in many cases, which was significantly longer than required. Customers of notebooksbilliger.de were also affected by the unlawful video surveillance, as some cameras were pointed at seating areas in the sales area. So far, the fine against notebooksbilliger.de is the highest fine that the LfD Niedersachen has issued under the GDPR.