Citynews S.p.A., Il Gazzettino S.p.A. and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano S.r.l. – Processing Ban (Italy, 2022)
General GDPR enforcement action
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Three media outlets in Italy published personal data of a man while he was in pre-trial detention, including a photo taken during his arrest. The data protection authority ruled this was unlawful, even though the outlets argued it was in the public interest. This case highlights the importance of respecting privacy rights, even in news reporting.
What happened
Citynews, Il Gazzettino, and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano published personal data and images of a man in pre-trial detention.
Who was affected
The man whose personal data and images were published by the media outlets.
What the authority found
The authority ruled that the media outlets unlawfully published the man's images while he was detained, violating GDPR's requirement for lawful processing.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that media outlets must consider privacy rights when reporting on legal matters. It serves as a reminder for all businesses to be cautious about how they handle personal data.
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Entities Involved
Source checks
Secondary-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 18 October 2026.
Processing notes: national law identified.
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The controllers are three media outlets (Citynews, Il Gazzettino, and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano). The data subject was involved in a criminal investigation. The media outlets published the data subject's personal data while he was in pre-trial detention. This included images of the data subject, including a "mug shot" taken at the time of his arrest a few months earlier. The data subject submitted a complaint with the DPA for unlawful processing of this data. Citynews stated that (1) it had complied with the complainant's request by anonymizing the article after its publication; (2) the data subject had not made any request for the removal of his personal data prior to the complaint; (3) the publication was in compliance with the exercise of a proper local news right. It added that (4) the photograph was not a mug shot and did not show the data subject in any physical restraint or manner which impugned his dignity. Il Gazzettino and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano brought similar arguments forward. They all also argued (5) that the images did not feature identification codes/numbers or the State Police logo to indicate the exact events in the images. Lastly, they claimed that (6) it was in the public domain by virtue of pending criminal court proceedings involving the data subject, and as a result of a press conference held by a Police Headquarters official. The DPA held that the published photographs depicted the data subject while he was in a state of detention, and coincided with his detention. due to the circumstances and context in which they were exhibited and the characteristics described (type of shot and position of the data subject- full length and arms extended close to a wall). The DPA noted that although it could not rule out the existence of public interest in the matter relating to the offenses alleged against the complainant, the dissemination of the images was still unlawful. The DPA held that combined with personal details of the data subject,
Outcome
Processing Ban
A ban on processing activities imposed by the DPA.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Citynews S.p.A., Il Gazzettino S.p.A. and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano S.r.l. in IT
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Citynews S.p.A., Il Gazzettino S.p.A. and Teleradio Diffusione Bassano S.r.l. - Italy (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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