Vodafone España, S.A.U.: Insufficient legal basis for data processing

The Spanish DPA (AEPD) imposed a fine on Vodafone España, S.A.U. due to insufficient legal basis for data processing. The data subject had filed a complaint against the data controller. The data subject stated that telephone lines were registered in his name for which there were also outstanding payments. However, the data subject had never concluded contracts with the company for any of these lines. Rather, the contracts in question were concluded by fraudsters using the personal data of the data subject. Still, the personal data was entered into the company's information systems without any verification as to whether the contracts were lawful and actually concluded by the data subject. The original fine of EUR 80,000 was reduced to EUR 64,000 due to voluntary payment.

Industry: Media, Telecoms and Broadcasting