- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Italy · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
DPA case no. 9860461 – Violation Found (Italy, 2023)
Privacy enforcement record
This record is classified outside cookie consent. Subject classification does not confirm an applicable law. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
An Italian newspaper revealed sensitive health details about a mafia boss, prompting the Garante to investigate. The authority concluded that the newspaper did not follow privacy rules regarding sensitive information. This case highlights the importance of protecting individuals' privacy in media reporting.
What happened
A newspaper published sensitive health data about a mafia boss without proper justification under privacy laws.
Who was affected
The mafia boss whose terminal illness information was disclosed by the newspaper.
What the authority found
The Garante found that the newspaper violated privacy principles by not ensuring the information was essential for public interest.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes the need for journalists to respect privacy laws when reporting on sensitive issues. It reminds media outlets to balance public interest with individual rights.
View original scraped data
Original imported citations before automated processing; the processing history does not establish independent verification.
Source checks
Linked-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 18 October 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
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
A mafia boss was caught after 30 years of hiding during a medical treatment in a private hospital. A newspaper published detailed information on his state of health and more specifically about the fact that he was terminally ill. The Italian DPA intervened to ascertain whether the processing of personal data was legitimate. The Italian DPA struck a balance between freedom of information and right to privacy. Health data are special categories of data covered by Article 9 GDPR. According to Article 137 of the Italian Data Protection Code, health data can be processed for journalistic purposes without the data subject´s consent provided that the controller complies with the principle of essentiality of information and the facts are of public interest. In addition, the controller shall respect the deontological rules governing journalism. In the present case, the Italian DPA found that the principle of essentiality was violated. Thus, it imposed the temporary limitation of processing concerning data already published and equivalent ones.
Outcome
Violation Found
The DPA found a violation but did not impose a fine.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for DPA case no. 9860461 in IT
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Decision Date
18 January 2023
Authority
Garante per la protezione dei dati personali
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-5718About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. DPA case no. 9860461 - Italy (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: