Austrian Data Protection Authority – Court Ruling (Austria, 2023)
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.
The Austrian Data Protection Authority ruled on the use of an algorithm by the Public Employment Service to assess jobseekers' employment chances. The algorithm was designed to help counselors provide better support, but it did not consider all relevant personal factors. This ruling reinforces the need for careful data handling in public services.
What happened
The Public Employment Service used an algorithm to categorize jobseekers based on their likelihood of finding employment.
Who was affected
Jobseekers in Austria whose data was analyzed by the algorithm.
What the authority found
The court found that the Public Employment Service had a legal basis for processing personal data under Austrian law.
Why this matters
This ruling highlights the importance of ethical data use, especially in public services. Organizations should ensure their algorithms are fair and consider all relevant factors.
View original scraped data
Original imported citations before automated processing; the processing history does not establish independent verification.
Source checks
Secondary-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 12 April 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified, authority corrected.
Retrieved text may be a secondary summary or an announcement. These automated statuses do not establish that the original decision was read or that the record received an independent legal review. How we check sources
The controller, the Public Employment Service in Austria, supports workers in (re)integrating into the labour market by offering various services, including a counsellor that discusses labour market opportunities with the jobseeker. In order to assess the jobseeker’s labour opportunities on the market, the controller used an algorithm to calculate the degree of probability for jobseekers to be employed for a certain number of days, based on: (1) age group, (2) gender, (3) country group, (4) education, (5) health impairment, (6) care responsibilities, (7) occupational group, (8) career history and (9) the regional labour market situation and the duration of cases at the controller. The algorithm did not include motivation, self-help potential of the jobseeker, addiction, debt or housing situation. Based on this, the algorithm divided jobseekers into the following three groups: (1) Service jobseekers with high labour market opportunities, (2) Care jobseekers with low labour market opportunities, (3) Consultancy jobseekers with medium labour market opportunities. The result was used as a starting point for counsellors to work with jobseekers to assess their potential and any obstacles in the labour market integration. The algorithm itself was not used for job placement, but only for targeted support and assistance, meaning, choosing the right support strategy based on which group the jobseeker was assigned to. The controller claimed it had a legal basis under Austrian national law (the Arbeitsmarktservicegezetz, AMSG) to process data with the help of an algorithm. Under Article 4(4) GDPR, this processing of data is considered profiling. According to Austrian data protection law (see [https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/1999/165/A1P1/NOR40139563 Article 1 §2 DSG]), processing for the performance of a public task needs to be authorised in Asutrian law. However, the DPA found that a legal basis for this processing could not be found in the AMSG. The
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (3)
Other cases involving Austrian Data Protection Authority in AT
Court Ruling
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Austrian Data Protection Authority - Austria (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: