- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Hungary · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Amplifon Magyarország Kft. – €200,000 Fine (Hungary, 2022)
Privacy enforcement record
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Amplifon Magyarország Kft. sent marketing letters to people without their permission, which led to a fine of €200,000. The company argued that they had consent, but the data protection authority disagreed. This case highlights the importance of obtaining clear consent before contacting potential customers.
What happened
Amplifon sent unsolicited marketing letters to individuals who had not consented to receive them.
Who was affected
Individuals who received marketing letters from Amplifon without giving their consent.
What the authority found
The authority found that Amplifon lacked a valid legal basis for processing personal data, violating GDPR's consent requirements.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes that companies must secure explicit consent before sending marketing communications. It serves as a reminder for businesses to review their consent practices to avoid similar penalties.
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The DPA received a number of complaints from data subjects about Amplifon, a company selling hearing aids (the controller). The controller allegedly sent them a written letter via post inviting them to a free hearing test, despite the fact that they had not previously consented to receiving such marketing communication. The DPA therefore launched an ex officio investigation on 1 January 2020. The controller claimed that letter assessing the need for hearing tests were only sent to persons listed in the database provided by the Ministry of Interior. On average, the controller requested data every 2-3 months, with an average of 3-400.000 data subjects' names and addresses per request. All data were transferred to a separate, secure server by the controller's competent employees, and the entire contents of the device were irretrievably deleted after the transfer. The purpose of the data collection – stated by the controller in the request to the Ministry – was to contact and maintain contacts for direct marketing purposes and, in subsequent requests (after 23 February 2021), for market research. In the controller's view, Article 3(1)(d) of the Act CXIX of 1995 on the processing of name and address data for research and direct marketing allowed the collection of data from the sources specified in the legislation. Accordingly, the market researcher may request name and address data from the register of the Ministry of Interior for the purpose of contacting the data subject. Provided that the data subject had not refused the disclosure of his or her data. The controller stated that it used consent of the data subjects as the legal basis, arguing that the data subjects had the possibility to withdraw their consent at the Ministry of Interior or the controller if they do not wish their personal data to be processed. First, in the DPA's view, the silence of the data subject could not be accepted as an affirmative act. If the data subject did not take any active steps to g
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Amplifon Magyarország Kft. in HU
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
11 August 2022
Authority
Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság
Fine Amount
€200,000
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Amplifon Magyarország Kft. - Hungary (2022). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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