Moderate
Data protection authority action
Decided
Austria · Mar 27, 2023
Austrian DPA rules CRIF's processing of Austrian citizens' personal data illegal
The Austrian Data Protection Authority found that CRIF GmbH illegally processed addresses, dates of birth, names and other personal data of millions of Austrians obtained from AZ Direkt without consent or legal basis, ordering the deletion…
Austrian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Feb 28, 2023
noyb files complaints against data brokers for refusing cookie‑based authentication of GDPR access requests
noyb lodged a series of complaints against websites and data brokers that denied or complicated GDPR access requests by requiring additional identification beyond cookies. The complaints argue that, under GDPR and EDPB guidance, users…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Published
Ireland · Jan 11, 2023
Irish DPC fines Meta €60m for unlawful processing and €150m for transparency breaches
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) issued a final decision imposing a €150 million fine on Facebook for transparency failures and a €60 million fine on Meta for lacking a legal basis to process personal data. The decision also…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · Jan 4, 2023
EU EDPB bans Meta from using personal data for personalized ads, imposes €390 million fine
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) decided that Meta (Facebook and Instagram) may not use personal data for personalized advertising and must obtain opt‑in consent. The decision also imposes a total fine of €390 million on Meta.…
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · Dec 6, 2022
EU Data Protection Board rules Meta's consent bypass for personalized ads illegal
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) decided that Meta cannot force users to accept personalized ads and must obtain a yes/no consent option. The decision overturns a previous draft decision by the Irish Data Protection Commission and…
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Published
European Union · Oct 13, 2022
CJEU Advocate General opinion may limit GDPR non‑material damages compensation
The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the EU issued an opinion that could restrict the right to claim non‑material damages under the GDPR. The opinion questions whether Article 82 allows damages without material loss and suggests…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
Decided
European Union · Jul 21, 2022
6.3 million Euro fine imposed on Grindr for GDPR violations
noyb’s complaints resulted in a 6.3 million Euro fine against the gay dating app Grindr for breaching the GDPR. The fine was highlighted in noyb’s 2021 Annual Report.
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Data protection authority action
In effect
France · Apr 5, 2022
CNIL rules use of Google Analytics illegal and orders French sites to comply with GDPR
The French data protection authority (CNIL) decided that using Google Analytics violates the GDPR and ordered three French website controllers to bring their practices into compliance. The decision follows earlier Austrian DPA rulings and…
CNIL · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · Mar 14, 2022
Amazon workers file GDPR access requests to demand data transparency
Warehouse workers from Germany, UK, Italy, Poland and Slovakia filed data subject access requests under Article 15 GDPR to learn how Amazon processes their personal data. Amazon has one month to respond and disclose the processing…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
In effect
Malta · Jan 20, 2022
Malta data protection commissioner fines C-Planet €65,000 for illegal voter data collection
The Malta Information & Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) imposed a €65,000 fine on IT company C-Planet for unlawfully collecting personal data of 98% of Maltese voters, including political preferences. The IDPC found the processing…
Information & Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
In effect
Norway (EEA) · Dec 15, 2021 · effective Dec 15, 2021
Norwegian DPA fines Grindr €6.3 M for illegal sharing of sensitive data
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of 65 Mio NOK on Grindr for sharing sensitive personal data without valid consent. The authority found the consent mechanism invalid and highlighted the lack of a genuine opt‑out. The…
Norwegian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Guidance
Published
Ireland · Dec 4, 2021
Irish DPC tried to embed Facebook consent bypass into EDPB Guidelines, but final 2019 guidelines omitted it
A letter shows the Irish DPC held ten meetings with Facebook and agreed on a GDPR bypass by moving consent into terms and conditions. The DPC then drafted EDPB guideline language to allow this approach, but other DPAs criticised it…
Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
Ireland · Oct 15, 2021
Irish DPC orders noyb to remove draft decision from website
The Irish Data Protection Commission sent a take‑down request to privacy activist group noyb on 14 Oct 2021, ordering removal of a draft decision that allegedly strips Facebook users of GDPR rights. noyb refused, citing Austrian law and…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Aug 13, 2021
noyb files complaints against cookie paywalls of seven German and Austrian news sites over unlawful consent
noyb filed complaints against the cookie paywalls of SPIEGEL.de, Zeit.de, heise.de, FAZ.net, derStandard.at, krone.at and t-online.de, arguing that the "pay or okay" model violates the GDPR's requirement for freely given consent. The…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · May 26, 2021 · effective May 25, 2018
Digital Rights alliance files legal complaints across Europe against facial recognition company Clearview AI
Noyb and other EU digital‑rights groups submitted complaints to data‑protection authorities in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom to halt Clearview AI's mass facial‑recognition surveillance. The regulators have three…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Pending
Austria · Mar 14, 2021
Austrian Supreme Court to consider referral of Facebook GDPR consent bypass case
The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) has been asked to refer a case concerning Facebook's alleged bypass of GDPR consent rules to the CJEU. The dispute centers on Facebook's claim that a contractual duty to provide personalized advertising…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
Germany · Jan 28, 2021 · deadline Feb 12, 2021
Hamburg DPA preliminarily deems Clearview AI’s biometric profiling of EU residents illegal and orders partial deletion
The Hamburg Data Protection Authority preliminarily found that Clearview AI’s collection of biometric profiles of Europeans violates the GDPR and ordered the deletion of the mathematical hash values of the complainant’s biometric profile.…
Hamburg Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
In effect
Norway (EEA) · Jan 26, 2021
Norwegian DPA fines Grindr €9.63 million for illegal sharing of sensitive data
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority imposed a fine of 100 Mio NOK on Grindr for sharing personal and sensitive data without valid consent. The authority found Grindr's consent mechanism invalid and highlighted the company's lack of…
Norwegian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
Malta · Nov 12, 2020
noyb files complaint with Maltese DPA over C-Planet voter data breach
noyb filed a complaint with the Maltese Data Protection Authority against C-Planet IT Solutions for leaking personal data of 337,384 voters, including phone numbers, dates of birth and political opinions. NGOs Daphne Foundation and…
Maltese Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
Austria · Aug 4, 2020
noyb files GDPR complaint against CRIF over arbitrary credit score
noyb.eu lodged a GDPR complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority against credit rating agency CRIF for assigning a credit score of 446 despite claiming no personal data was stored. The score caused an electricity supplier to…
Austrian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
