Recent examples of enforcement actions carried out by data protection authorities

This comparative report gives brief examples of enforcement measures against breaches of data privacy protection rules in the member states. It shows high levels of variability in terms of penalties (ie minimal fines as in Germany and stiffer penalties elsewhere). Financial penalties are often so low as a percentage of the gain made by the infringer that they are not a deterrent. The compensation to the ‘victim’ can often be trivial and meaningless. There is also variance in what member states focus on when looking into enforcement, The most common areas are health, insurance, tax and payment of telephone bills. The UK looked at police data.

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Recent examples of enforcement actions carried out by data protection authorities