Private person – €2,500 Fine (Germany, 2019)
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 private individual in Germany was fined for sending emails that exposed recipients' personal email addresses to each other. This breach of privacy rules shows that even individuals must handle personal data responsibly. It highlights the importance of protecting personal information in communications.
What happened
The individual sent emails revealing recipients' personal email addresses to all other recipients.
Who was affected
Recipients of the emails who had their personal email addresses exposed to others without consent.
What the authority found
The German Data Protection Authority found the individual violated GDPR by improperly handling personal data in emails, lacking a valid legal basis for sharing the email addresses.
Why this matters
This case serves as a reminder that privacy laws apply to individuals as well as companies. It stresses the importance of safeguarding personal information in everyday communications to prevent unauthorized data exposure.
GDPR Articles Cited
The fine was impossed against a private person who sent several e-mails between July and September 2018, in which he used personal e-mail addresses visible to all recipients, from which each recipient could read countless other recipients. The man was accused of ten offences between mid-July and the end of July 2018. According to the authority's letter, between 131 and 153 personal mail addresses were identifiable in his mailing list.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Private person in DE
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Fine Date
5 February 2019
Authority
Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz
Fine Amount
€2,500
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-28
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Private person - Germany (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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