Mayor – €5,000 Fine (Belgium, 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 mayor in Belgium was fined €5,000 for sending election emails to people without their consent. The email addresses were not originally collected for election purposes, violating privacy laws. This case emphasizes the need for proper consent when using personal data for different activities.
What happened
A mayor sent election emails using addresses not collected for that purpose.
Who was affected
Residents who received unsolicited election emails from the mayor.
What the authority found
The Belgian data protection authority found the mayor violated GDPR by not having a valid legal basis for using the email addresses.
Why this matters
This ruling highlights the importance of obtaining consent before using personal data for new purposes, especially in political campaigns. It serves as a warning to public officials about respecting privacy laws.
GDPR Articles Cited
Fine for sending election mailings without a sufficient legal basis. The e-mail addresses used have not been collected for this purpose.
Related Enforcement Actions (1)
Other enforcement actions involving Mayor in BE
Details
Fine Date
28 November 2019
Authority
Autorité de Protection des Données
Fine Amount
€5,000
Enforcement Tracker ID
ETid-123
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Mayor - Belgium (2019). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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