- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Denmark · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
The Agency of Family Law – Violation Found (Denmark, 2022)
Privacy enforcement record
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The Agency of Family Law in Denmark was investigated for accidentally sharing protected information about individuals involved in family law cases. The data protection authority found that the agency failed to secure sensitive data, leading to unauthorized disclosures.
What happened
The Danish DPA found that The Agency of Family Law disclosed protected information to unauthorized parties.
Who was affected
Individuals involved in family law proceedings were affected by the unauthorized disclosures.
What the authority found
The authority ruled that the agency did not meet the necessary security requirements to protect sensitive personal data.
Why this matters
This ruling highlights the need for public authorities to implement strict data security measures. Organizations handling sensitive information must prioritize data protection to avoid breaches.
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Automated check recorded — 23 March 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, authority corrected.
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The Agency of Family Law (the controller) is a public authority that handles cases relating to family issues, including i.a. separation and divorce, guardianship, adoption, child/spousal support, etc. On 13 October 2021, following its March decision [https://gdprhub.eu/index.php?title=Datatilsynet_-_2020-432-0037 2020-432-0037], the Danish DPA opened another investigation into the controller's disclosures of protected name and address information to unauthorised parties. The inspection covered 37 personal data security breaches from 27 May 2021 to 16 August 2022, where the controller accidentally shared protected information about one party to a proceeding with another party. In those cases, parties protected their contact details precisely to avoid the other party getting to know their whereabouts, e.g. due to concerns about child abduction, violence, etc. The disclosures happened mainly because of a human error when responding to information access requests, information letters, party hearings and sending decisions. Case handlers would not pay enough attention to the information and thereby did not anonymise it. The controller emphasised that it processes thousands of cases each year. Despite the strong focus on avoiding accidental disclosure of personal data and continuous work to improve data security, human errors can occur when employees perform their job. These errors can, unfortunately, lead to breaches of personal data security. The DPA held that the requirement of Article 32 GDPR for adequate security typically obliges the controller to ensure that information about data subjects, including particularly confidential and sensitive information, is not disclosed to unauthorised persons. To avoid this, the controller must conduct appropriate content quality control in forwarded documents. Furthermore, handling confidential and sensitive personal data places greater demands on employees' diligence in connection with the transmission of personal data, includin
Outcome
Violation Found
The DPA found a violation but did not impose a fine.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for The Agency of Family Law in DK
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Decision Date
6 September 2022
Authority
Datatilsynet (Norway)
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. The Agency of Family Law - Denmark (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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