PLAY FUL KIDS, S.L. – €3,000 Fine (Spain, 2024)

A children's birthday party was held at the premises of PLAY FUL KIDS, S.L., a recreational venue located in Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona. During the party, a confrontation occurred between several guests and staff members, including the manager of the venue and her partner. The situation escalated into a physical and verbal altercation involving shouting, grabbing of clothes, pushing, and accusations exchanged between the parties. The following day, various attendees posted negative reviews on Google, criticising the staff’s unprofessional behaviour and the lack of safety and decorum at a venue that is supposed to cater to children. In apparent retaliation, three data subjects received a WhatsApp message from a number attributed to the manager of venue, which contained a video clip recorded by the venue's CCTV video surveillance system. The message included a warning: if the complainants did not remove their negative reviews, the footage would be used against them. The video in question showed the confusion event, as well as numerous adults and children in attendance. It was filmed from a high angle in a corner of the premises and captured a panoramic view of the interior. The data subjects later provided screenshots of the threatening messages and the video to the authorities. The matter escalated when the footage was uploaded to, at the time, Twitter, and linked to a public campaign against gender-based violence. The post, which was not published by an official account, but with visual elements related to PLAY FUL KIDS, accused the one of the data subjects as being a "male abuser.” The video included in the post was the same as the one sent by WhatsApp: same angle, same content, and same identifiable individuals. The post invited viewers to stop gender violence in Sant Adrià, misrepresenting the nature of the incident and weaponising the footage to shame the individual. On 17 April 2023, the Catalan Data Protection Authority forwarded to the AEPD a police r