Municipality of Vasto – €5,000 Fine (Italy, 2026)

The Municipality of Vasto (the controller) implemented a dedicated photo and video system for the purpose of detecting violations of the national provisions on traffic safety. A data subject filed a complaint against the controller after being fined for running a red light. The data subject argued that there were no signs or warnings near the cameras installed to detect violations, and that the controller did not obscure the windows to make data subjects unrecognisable. The controller argued that it provided warning signs of the presence of cameras. In addition, the cameras only capture data subjects’ license plates to comply with the principle of data minimisation (Article 5(1)(c) GDPR), and that the case of the data subject was a technical error. The DPA first noted that, in principle, a public entity can process this data if it is necessary to fulfil a legal obligation or for the public interest (Article 6(1)(c) and (e) GDPR). However, the controller still has the obligation to provide information to data subjects regarding the processing, in accordance with the principle of transparency (Article 5(1)(a) GDPR). The DPA found that, at the time of the complaint, the controller had not included any information near the cameras. In addition, the first level privacy policy did not comply with the requirements of Article 13 GDPR and were not provided in concise and transparent manner. Therefore, the DPA found a violation of Articles 5(1)(a), 12(1) and 13 GDPR. The DPA also found a violation of Article 5(1)(c) GDPR, as the controller failed to comply with the principle of data minimisation. The DPA stated that the controller had failed to ensure that the cameras only captured the vehicles’ license plates, and had therefore processed more data than necessary. Finally, the DPA found a violation of Article 35 GDPR, as the controller had prepared a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) only after the processing activities began. The DPA noted that the DPIA was also no