Background information
- Date of final decision: 4 April 2024
- Cross-border case
- LSA: France
- and CSAs: Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain
- Legal References: Article 6 (Lawfulness of processing), Article 14 (Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject)
- Decision: Administrative fine
- Key words: Transparency, Consent
Summary of the Decision
Origin of the case
The French Supervisory Authority (SA) has decided to initiate control proceedings against HUBSIDE.STORE, which carries out phone and SMS prospecting campaigns to promote products it sells in its store (laptops, mobile phones).
HUBSIDE.STORE purchases data from data brokers and publishers of competition and product testing websites.
Key Findings
The French SA found several breaches of the GDPR:
- Failure of the obligation to have a legal basis for processing data (Article 6 GDPR).
The misleading appearance of the data collection forms used by data brokers responsible for collecting the data did not allow valid consent to be obtained from the individuals concerned. Therefore, HUBSIDE.STORE did not have a valid legal basis for data collection (Article 6 GDPR) for commercial prospecting by phone calls. It also constitutes a breach of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code (Article L.34-5) for SMS prospecting purposes. - Failure to comply with the obligation to inform individuals (Article 14 GDPR). Investigations revealed that individuals canvassed by telephone did not have all the necessary information on the collection and use of their personal data (for example, the identity and contact details of the organisation, the purposes for which the data was used, the retention periods, the source of the data, their rights or even their possibility of lodging a complaint with the French SA).
Decision
The French SA imposed a fine of EUR 525,000 on HUBSIDE.STORE.
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The news published here does not constitute official EDPB communication, nor an EDPB endorsement. This news item was originally published by the national supervisory authority and was published here at the request of the SA for information purposes. Any questions regarding this news item should be directed to the supervisory authority concerned.