Court case Us I-755/2025-8 – Court Ruling (Croatia, 2025)

The data subject was a member of the management board of Zagrebački holding, a company owned by the City of Zagreb, from 3 September 2021 until 31 March 2023. A television broadcaster published several pieces, including a video on its YouTube channel, reporting on the data subject’s resignation. The publications mentioned his name, role, employer, salary, and information on the brand of his private car. The data subject filed a complaint with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP), claiming that the publication constituted unlawful processing under the GDPR because the media lacked a valid legal basis under Article 6, the reporting was inaccurate and excessive, and it did not serve any genuine public interest. He latter further claimed during the lawsuit against AZOP's decision that the authority had incorrectly and incompletely established the facts, misapplied substantive law, and breached procedural rules. He emphasized that the published personal data was unrelated to transparency in public administration, that he was neither a public figure nor a political actor, and that any public interest ended once he left office on 31 March 2023. He invoked his right to erasure under Article 17 GDPR and sought removal of the content, annulment of AZOP’s decision, or alternatively, a remittal for a new procedure. AZOP contested the lawsuit in full, maintaining that it had acted in accordance with Article 34 of the Croatian GDPR Implementation Act and Article 77 GDPR. It argued that the publication fell within a justified public interest under Article 8 of the Croatian Media Act and that it had properly carried out a balancing test between privacy (Article 8 ECHR) and freedom of expression (Article 10 ECHR). According to AZOP, the reporting was necessary, proportionate, and not sensationalistic, and did not excessively intrude on the data subject’s privacy. It added that consent was not required because the processing relied on legitimate interest under Article