- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Germany · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- No confirmed legal basis recorded.
- Privacy topics
Attorney – Fine (Germany, 2021)
Privacy enforcement record
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An attorney in Germany published personal information about a client and their family on his blog, claiming press privilege. The data protection authority found this was illegal because he was not acting as a journalist but trying to pressure the client for payment. This case highlights the importance of respecting privacy even in disputes.
What happened
The attorney published the names and addresses of a client and their family on his blog without a valid legal basis.
Who was affected
The client and their family members whose personal information was published online.
What the authority found
The authority ruled that the attorney unlawfully processed personal data, lacking a valid legal basis for doing so.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that individuals must handle personal data carefully, even in disputes. It serves as a reminder for professionals to understand the limits of data sharing.
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The DPA from Berlin has imposed a fine on an attorney. The attorney had been in dispute with a client for several years over a monetary claim. For two years, he published the first and last names, the residential addresses of the client and his family members, as well as various unredacted parts of files on his blog - and invoked the press privilege. However, this was not a purely exclusive journalistic publication. Rather, the attorney was concerned with accelerating the payment of the monetary amount to which he believed he was entitled. Since the attorney could therefore not refer to the press privilege as the legal basis for the data processing, the DPA found that he had unlawfully processed the data of the data subjects.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Attorney in DE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
1 January 2021
Authority
Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Attorney - Germany (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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