- Enforcing jurisdiction
- Poland · Geography does not establish applicable law.
- Confirmed applicable legislation
- Privacy topics
Court case III OSK 6781/21 – Court Ruling (Poland, 2023)
Privacy enforcement record
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A Polish court ruled on a case where a publisher refused to delete personal data from their online archives. The court found that the publication fell under journalistic activity, which is exempt from certain GDPR rules. This ruling highlights the balance between privacy rights and freedom of the press.
What happened
The court upheld the publisher's right to maintain an online publication containing personal data as part of journalistic activity.
Who was affected
The decision affects individuals whose personal data is published online by media outlets.
What the authority found
The court decided that the publication was considered press activity and did not require a legal basis under GDPR for maintaining the data.
Why this matters
This ruling emphasizes the importance of journalistic freedom while also raising questions about the right to be forgotten. Publishers should be aware of how their activities may be classified under data protection laws.
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The controller is a publisher who made an online publication containing personal data of the data subject, which could still be found in the websites archives. The data subject requested deletion of this information from the archive based on their right to be forgotten (Article 17 GDPR) but the controller denied the request for undisclosed reasons. Subsequently, the data subject complained to the Polish DPA, claiming that the controller had no legal basis to publish the respective personal data. Polish law provides exemptions from the applicability of the GDPR for journalistic activity, based on Article 85(2) GDPR. According to [https://lexlege.pl/ochr-danych-osob/art-2/ Article 2(1) of the Polish Data Protection Act], most of Chapter II and III of the GDPR do not apply to press materials. The DPA argued that the publication was a manifestation of 'journalistic press activity' and therefore did not need a legal basis under the GDPR based on the exception contained in [https://lexlege.pl/ochr-danych-osob/art-2/ Article 2(1) of the Polish Data Protection Act]. Hence, the DPA refused to open administrative proceedings against the controller and rejected the complaint. The data subject (the plaintiff) complained in national court against the DPA's (the defendant) decision to not initiate proceedings. The dispute essentially concerned two issues. First, whether the maintenance of a particular publication on the publisher's portal - in the archives - constituted 'press activity' which partially excluded the applicability of the GDPR. Second, whether Article 17 GDPR applied also in matters relating to press activity. With regards to the first issue, the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw ruled that any publication, no matter when released, also when containing personal data, is to be considered press material. Concerning the second point, the Court recalled Article 17(3) GDPR, which excludes the application of the right to be forgotten when it is 'necessary' for
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Court case III OSK 6781/21 in PL
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Ruling Date
9 February 2023
Authority
DPA WSAWarsaw
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Court case III OSK 6781/21 - Poland (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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