Data protection officer – €500 Fine (Germany, 2022)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A data protection officer in Germany was fined for sharing a photo of an injured person in a company WhatsApp group without their consent. This matters because it highlights the importance of having a valid reason to share personal information, even within a company. The fine shows that privacy rules apply to internal communications too.
What happened
A company data protection officer shared a photo of an injured person in a WhatsApp group without consent.
Who was affected
The person in the photo, who was injured and did not agree to have their image shared.
What the authority found
The authority found the sharing of the photo unlawful due to the lack of a valid reason under GDPR.
Why this matters
This case reminds businesses that sharing personal information internally still requires a valid legal basis. It underscores the need for companies to ensure all staff understand privacy rules, even in casual communication settings.
GDPR Articles Cited
The DPA of Thüringen has imposed a three-digit fine on the data protection officer of a company. The controller had posted a photo in a WhatsApp group of the company which showed the data subject bleeding heavily after a physical attack. The data subject had not consented to the publication in the WhatsApp group, which is why the DPA concluded that the publication was unlawful due to the lack of a valid legal basis.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Data protection officer in DE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
1 January 2022
Authority
Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
Fine Amount
€500
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-1974
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Data protection officer - Germany (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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