Court case Us I-451/2025-10 – Court Ruling (Croatia, 2026)

In 2022, a Croatian media outlet published articles about a person (claimant) who was, at the time, a member of the management board of Zagrebački holding d.o.o, a City of Zagreb-owned holding company providing municipal and utility services. The articles disclosed their name, the company where they were employed, their position, gross salary, the model of their personal vehicle, the gross monthly allowance for using a private vehicle, and the amount of a fine imposed by the Croatian Commission for the Resolution of Conflicts of Interest. The claimant held the management board position from September 2021 to March 2023. The claimant lodged a complaint with the Croatian DPA, alleging that the publication infringed their right to the protection of personal data and requesting the removal of the articles. The DPA rejected the complaint and found no violation. It concluded that the published personal data were appropriate, relevant and necessary for informing the public, due to the claimant’s position at the time of publication and because the public interest prevailed. The DPA also found that the public interest in the continued availability of the articles outweighed the data subject’s request for erasure under Article 17 GDPR. It pointed out that Article 17(3)(a) GDPR stipulates that the right to erasure does not apply to the extent that the processing is necessary for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and information. The DPA considered the Croatian Media Act, noting that it applied as a special law. The Act regulates conditions for media freedom, the rights of journalists and access to public information. The DPA determined that according to Article 8 of the Media Act, there was no violation of the right to privacy if a legitimate public interest prevailed over the protection of privacy in relation to journalistic activities. The claimant contested the DPA’s decision before the Administrative Court of Zagreb. They argued that they were not a publ