Court case LVwG-352-2/2025-R12 – Court Ruling (Austria, 2025)
General GDPR enforcement action
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A journalist in Austria asked the Vorarlberg State Government for information about where political parties placed election posters. The government refused, saying the information could reveal personal opinions of property owners, which is protected under data privacy laws. This case highlights the balance between public information and personal privacy rights.
What happened
A journalist requested information about the locations of election posters used by political parties from the Vorarlberg State Government.
Who was affected
The request affected property owners whose locations were tied to political advertising, as their political opinions could be inferred from the data.
What the authority found
The Vorarlberg State Government decided not to release the information, citing that it involved special categories of personal data under GDPR that required protection.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes the importance of protecting personal data, even in public contexts like elections. It serves as a reminder for organizations to carefully consider privacy implications when handling data related to individuals' political affiliations.
GDPR Articles Cited
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National Law Articles
A journalist requested information from the Vorarlberg State Government (the controller) under the Vorarlberg Freedom of Information Act regarding the locations of election posters and digital election advertising displays used by political parties for the next state election. Under Article 1c(2) of the Vorarlberg Political Party Promotion Act (PFG), political parties were legally required to notify the state government of the locations used for election posters or digital election advertising displays. The journalist stated that the purpose of the information request was to compare the poster locations reported by political parties with a photographic documentation of actual poster locations prepared by several editors of their media outlet. The controller refused this request on data protection grounds. It argued that the map showing election poster locations and the addresses in their descriptions involved special categories of personal data under Article 9 GDPR, as these data could reveal the political opinions of the property owners associated with the respective addresses. The controller also stated that no exemption under Article 9(2) GDPR applied in this case. Additionally, the controller stated that disclosure was not permissible due to the absence of a legal basis. The controller argued that the interest in confidentiality of special categories of personal data prevailed, especially since there was no necessity for the requested information to exercise freedom of expression in accordance with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The journalist appealed the decision to the Provincial Administrative Court (LVwG) of Vorarlberg. They argued that the intention behind their information request was to determine the geographical focus of the election campaign by assessing the poster locations and had no intention of using the requested data to attribute political views to individuals or entities. The journalist contended that it was in the
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case LVwG-352-2/2025-R12 in AT
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case LVwG-352-2/2025-R12 - Austria (2025). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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