Record number of sanctions in 2021

The protection of personal data is a fundamental right of all citizens and is recognized in Articles 18.4 of the Spanish Constitution, 8.1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and 16.1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Even so, more than 1.1 billion euros in LOPD penalties have been imposed in 2021 for non-compliance with the Data Protection Regulation, which multiplies by 7 times the penalties of the previous year, according to a report by DLA Piper. year, according to a report by DLA Piper.

In 2021, Spain is the leading country in terms of the number of sanctions (170), three times more than Italy and Slovakia.

We remind you of some of the sanctions that may be imposed:

Failure to appoint a data protection officer with the necessary qualifications: 50.000€.
Incorrect processing of personal data: 75,000€.
Video surveillance without complying with the LOPD: 9,600€.
Failure to comply with the rights of a client: 2.500 €.
Sending 1 advertising email incorrectly: 1.000€.
Sending 1 advertising SMS incorrectly: 1,500 €.

And the unregulated transfer of data to the USA

And all of the above, added to a current context in which Europe does not accept the terms so far established in the Privacy Shield / Privacy Shield between Europe and the U.S., due to the ruling of annulment of the same by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), based on the lack of guarantees by the U.S..

Very nervous Mr. Zuckerberg CEO of Meta, to see how the Advocate General of the EU understands that the various data protection authorities of the European Community can take action against Facebook in certain cases and not as before where this fell to Ireland, where the big technology companies have their headquarters in Europe, which could cause a flood of sanctions, by different European countries.

This situation as a whole, we understand, has prompted statements by Meta’s CEO in which he threatens Europe with the withdrawal of Facebook and Instagram from the old continent if the data protection compliance requirements are not comparable to those currently required in the US.

Social networks have been in the spotlight for some time now, it has also happened with WhatsApp and more recently with TikTok, which is the social network that collects the most personal data from users (mostly minors) and the worst thing is that it is not very clear where it ends up. It is not surprising that more cases will follow with those of the United Kingdom, where this social network was taken to court for collecting data from some 3.5 million minors without consent(TikTok sued in the UK).

It is not surprising that the AEPD has issued several publications, aimed at these users, warning about the footprint we leave on social networks, the danger that this entails for the confidentiality and protection of our personal data.

Avoiding data protection sanctions

But beyond the uncontrollable by the mundane, what is within our reach is to avoid sanctions.

Although it may seem obvious, the way to avoid data protection sanctions is to comply with the Data Protection Regulation, which in Europe is the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR), which is complemented in Spain by the LOPD-GDD.

All professional activities (companies and professionals) must comply with the Data Protection Regulation, although the specific activity will define the amount of technical and organizational measures to be applied in each business. In other words, the measures to be applied in a clinic are not the same as in a plumber’s shop, to give a few examples.

In order to comply with the Data Protection Regulation, it is recommended to count on expert data protection companies, which will facilitate the process making it more manageable in time, effort and cost.

For more information:

If you need advice for your business to comply with the RGPD and the LOPD, do not hesitate to request a quote without obligation to Business Adapter data protection Valencia. You will be surprised how little it costs to avoid sanctions:

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