- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Croatia · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
DPA case Decision of 10 August 2023 – Complaint Upheld (Croatia, 2023)
Privacy enforcement record
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A media outlet published pictures of a woman's legs without her permission, which were originally shared on her private Facebook profile. The Croatian data protection authority found that the outlet did not have a legal reason to publish these images, even though the woman was a public figure. This case highlights the importance of respecting personal privacy, even for public figures.
What happened
A media outlet published personal pictures of a woman from her private Facebook profile without her consent.
Who was affected
The woman whose pictures were published, who is a prominent member of a political party.
What the authority found
The Croatian data protection authority ruled that the media outlet did not have a valid legal basis for processing the woman's personal data, violating GDPR requirements.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that media outlets must respect individuals' privacy rights, even when they are public figures. Companies should ensure they have proper consent before using personal images.
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Automated check recorded — 18 October 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
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A data subject found that a media outlet, the controller had published an article on its website and on its Facebook page including personal data about her, more specifically pictures of her legs. The pictures in question were posted by the data subject on her private Facebook profile, hence they were not meant to be seen by the public at large. The data subject believed this processing to be unlawful and filed a complaint with the Croatian DPA (AZOP) against the controller. In its submissions, the controller stated that it mentioned the data subject in its article, among with other people and that it was not the first time that the data subject was featured in one of their articles, as she was a prominent member of a political party. Further, the controller claimed that the photos in question were public as the data subject herself had publish them on social media. The AZOP took into account all the facts and the relevant GDPR articles, as well as provisions of the [https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2004_05_59_1324.html Croatian Media Act] on media freedom and freedom of expression. In particular, the AZOP recognised that [https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2004_05_59_1324.html Article 8 of the Media Act] stipulates that there cannot be a violation of the right to data protection if there is a prevailing public interest in relation to journalistic activities. In this regard, the AZOP held that the Media Act represents the legal basis for processing of personal data by the controller as a media outlet in order to achieve the purposes established by that law. However, the AZOP stated that in this case the controller failed to provide a legal basis for processing the pictures of the data subject. Effectively, the controller could not rely on the fact that the data subject was a member of a political party to justify the publication of pictures of her which are unrelated to her political activities. In this the AZOP held that the controller ac
Outcome
Complaint Upheld
A data subject complaint that was upheld by the DPA.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for DPA case Decision of 10 August 2023 in HR
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. DPA case Decision of 10 August 2023 - Croatia (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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