Privacy Blog

BELGIUM DPA WARNS ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTION DUE TO WRONGFUL DATA PROCESSING

07.10.2020

The Belgian Data Protection Authority (“DPA”) has warned and reprimanded to the regional public environmental institution because of that the institution had wrongfully processed personal data from the National Register.

In the present case, the institution which is entitled to fine citizen breaching environmental legislation imposed fine on the first plaintiff by referring, in the decision, the civil partner (the second plaintiff) of the first plaintiff and the alleged father-in-law of the first plaintiff.

The institution found the name of the civil partner in the National Register of the fist plaintiff. Also, the alleged father-in-law (the third plaintiff) had communications with the institution in order to defend the first plaintiff. The Institution had concluded in its decision, based on the family name of the second and the third plaintiff, that there was a family connection between the two.

In this context, the DPA found that the mentioning of the name of the second plaintiff, its link to the first plaintiff, as well as the alleged family link between the second and the third plaintiff, based on information retrieved from the National Register, constitutes unlawful processing. Also, it is stated that there is a family connection between the second and the third plaintiff could be incorrect and it is based on assumptions.

The DPA issued a warning and reprimand to the institution in accordance with article 58.2.a. and 58.2.b of the GDPR[1].

You can reach the full text of the decision here.

Should you have any queries and/or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr

 

[1]“Each supervisory authority shall have all of the following corrective powers:

  1. to issue warnings to a controller or processor that intended processing operations are likely to infringe provisions of this Regulation;
  2. to issue reprimands to a controller or a processor where processing operations have infringed provisions of this Regulation;”