Father and child (data subjects) – Dismissed (Austria, 2025)
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.
An Austrian father asked for the deletion of personal data about him and his child collected by a court-appointed expert. The data protection authority dismissed his complaint, saying it was unfounded. This case highlights the limits of data protection complaints when they are seen as excessive.
What happened
The father filed a complaint to delete personal data collected by a court-appointed expert during a custody case.
Who was affected
The father and his minor child were affected by the data collection.
What the authority found
The data protection authority dismissed the complaint, stating it was manifestly unfounded under GDPR rules.
Why this matters
This dismissal shows that not all complaints about data processing will be upheld, especially if they are seen as excessive. It reminds users to consider the validity of their claims when seeking data deletion.
GDPR Articles Cited
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Entities Involved
The data subjects were father and child (a minor). The controller was a court-appointed expert in a custody and contact-rights proceeding before an Austrian district court. On 14 October 2024, the court appointed the expert to prepare an opinion on contact arrangements between the father and the child and on joint custody. On 23 December 2024, the expert conducted a diagnostic interview with the father and collected personal data relating to both data subjects as part of the court mandate. On 12 April 2025, the father requested the court-appointed expert to delete all personal data concerning himself and the child. On 27 October 2025, the father filed a complaint with the Austrian DPA. He requested a finding that his rights to confidentiality, information and erasure had been violated and asked the DPA to order the deletion of all personal data processed by the expert. First, the DPA referred to recent case law of the [https://infocuria.curia.europa.eu/tabs/document?source=document&text&docid=294111&pageIndex=0&doclang=DE&mode=req&dir&occ=first&part=1%7CCJEU CJEU] and the [https://ris.bka.gv.at/JudikaturEntscheidung.wxe?Abfrage=Vwgh&Dokumentnummer=JWT_2023040002_20230627L00|Austrian Administrative Court] on Article 57(4) GDPR noting that supervisory authorities may refuse to act on excessive or manifestly unfounded complaints. As the complaint primarily targeted the alleged bias of the court-appointed expert and sought to undermine the expert’s role in the custody proceedings, the DPA found that the data subject (father) attempted to use GDPR procedures to delegitimise the expert’s work and obtain deletion of evidence gathered under a judicial mandate. The authority considered this a misuse of rights and an abuse of the complaint mechanism under Article 57(4) GDPR. Second, the DPA emphasised that it had no competence to review procedural defects in civil proceedings, assess the admissibility of expert evidence or replace remedies available under Austrian procedura
Outcome
Dismissed
The complaint or investigation was dismissed.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Father and child (data subjects) in AT
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Father and child (data subjects) - Austria (2025). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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