- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Belgium · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
DPA case DOS-2023-04144 – Complaint Upheld (Belgium, 2023)
Privacy enforcement record
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A Belgian data protection authority found that a company continued to send marketing emails to a person even after they asked to unsubscribe. This matters because it shows that companies must respect people's requests to stop receiving marketing messages.
What happened
The company sent marketing emails to a person despite their request to unsubscribe.
Who was affected
The person who requested to stop receiving marketing emails from the company.
What the authority found
The authority ruled that the company failed to comply with the person's request to stop processing their data for direct marketing.
Why this matters
This case highlights the importance of honoring unsubscribe requests in marketing communications. Companies should ensure they have proper systems in place to manage such requests.
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Automated check recorded — 18 October 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
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The complainant received direct marketing information from the controller on 21 June 2023. The next day, on 22 June 2023, the complainant requested to be unsubscribed from the newsletter and the controller to stop sending them marketing information. Despite the request, the complainant continued to receive marketing e-mails from the controller. Thus, on 6 September 2023, the complainant notified the controller of the direct marketing information. After receiving another marketing e-mail communication on 6 October, the complainant informed the controller it would file a complaint with the Belgian DPA, which it did on 7 October 2023. The Belgian DPA noted that Belgian law does not contain any specific definition of "direct marketing". Similarly, a legal, official or generally accepted definition does not exist at the European level either. With that in mind, the DPA decided to build on the definition provided in [https://www.gegevensbeschermingsautoriteit.be/publications/aanbeveling-nr.-02-2013.pdf Recommendation No. 02/2013] of 30 January 2013 of the Belgian Privacy Advisory Commission on direct marketing and protection of personal data and the proposal of [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CONSIL:ST_12293_2019_INIT&from=EN Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2019] on respect for privacy and the protection of personal data in electronic communications and repealing Directive 2002/58/EC123. With this in mind, the DPA noted that on the basis of Article 21(2) GDPR, each person has a right to object to having their data processed for direct marketing. Under the definition of direct marketing considered by the authority, the communication to the complainant could have been considered to be direct marketing, and as such, the controller should have answered in accordance with the requirements of Article 12 GDPR and within the time limit set in Article 12(3) GDPR. As the complainant continued to receive marketing
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 DOS-2023-04144 in BE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. DPA case DOS-2023-04144 - Belgium (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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