Austrian Post – €16,000,000 Fine (Austria, 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.
Austrian Post was fined EUR 16 million for selling information about people's political preferences without a proper legal basis. This case is important because it shows that companies must be careful when handling sensitive information like political views. The fine was reduced from an initial EUR 18 million after an appeal.
What happened
Austrian Post sold data on political preferences without a valid legal basis.
Who was affected
Individuals whose political preferences were sold by Austrian Post.
What the authority found
The Austrian Data Protection Authority ruled that Austrian Post violated GDPR by selling data on political preferences without a valid legal basis.
Why this matters
This case highlights the importance of having a valid legal basis for processing sensitive data, such as political preferences. It serves as a warning to companies to review their data handling practices to ensure compliance with GDPR.
GDPR Articles Cited
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The Austrian DPA has imposed a fine of EUR 16,000,000 on the Austrian Post. The controller had sold information regarding the political affinity to third parties without a sufficient legal basis. Update: After the Austrian Federal Administrative Court canceld the fine with ruling from 2020-11-26, it again decided in the case and upheld the fine regarding the legal issue, but reduced the total amount from EUR 18,000,000 to EUR 16,000,000.
Related Enforcement Actions (1)
Other enforcement actions involving Austrian Post in AT
Details
Fine Date
29 October 2019
Authority
Datenschutzbehörde
Fine Amount
€16,000,000
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-96
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Austrian Post - Austria (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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