Advocate General

EU advocate general Collins has reiterated that individuals’ right to claim compensation for harm caused by GDPR breaches requires proof of “actual damage suffered” as a result of the breach, and “clear and precise evidence” of such damage – mere hypothetical harms or discomfort are insufficient. The advocate general also found that unauthorised access to data does not amount to “identity theft” as that term is used in the GDPR.Continue Reading EU Advocate General Defines “Identity Theft” And Reaffirms GDPR Compensation Threshold

On May 4, 2023, the Advocate General (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its opinion in case C-683/21, which examines the GDPR concepts of “controller”, “joint controller”, and “processor”, as well as the GDPR’s liability system.Continue Reading CJEU’s Advocate General Issues Opinion on Concept of Controller, Joint Controller, Processor, and Administrative Fines

On April 27, 2023, the Advocate General (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its opinion in the case C-807/21 on the conditions for imposing GDPR fines on legal persons (e.g., companies).  He opined that Member States’ law may not stipulate conditions going beyond those set out in the GDPR that make it more difficult to impute GDPR infringements to companies.  In addition, he is of the opinion that the GDPR penalties may only be imposed on intentional or negligent conducts, since the GDPR does not provide for a strict liability (no fault) system.Continue Reading CJEU’s Advocate General Issues Opinion on GDPR Fines Against Companies

On December 15, 2022, the Advocate Generals (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued two separate opinions in cases C‑487/21 and C‑579/21 on the right of access, pursuant to Article 15 GDPR.  The first case concerns the proper interpretation and application of Article 15(3), which permits a data subject to obtain a “copy” of their personal data, among other things. The second case concerns whether the right of access includes the right to receive the identity of the controller’s employees, who are processing the data subject’s personal data in the scope of their employment.Continue Reading CJEU’s Advocate General Issues Opinions on the GDPR’s Right of Access to Personal Data

Update: On January 12, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union sided with the Advocate General’s opinion, confirming that a data subject can lodge a complaint with a Supervisory Authority and, concurrently, lodge judicial redress proceedings against the same controller/processor for damages resulting from the alleged GDPR violation.

More specifically, the CJEU held that the remedies provided for in Article 77(1) and Article 78(1) GDPR, on the one hand, and Article 79(1) GDPR, on the other, can be exercised in parallel and are independent of each other.  Concerning the material outcome of the case, the referring court must determine how to implement the remedies, in line with national procedural law.

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On September 8, 2022, the Advocate General (“AG”) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) opined that data subjects should be able to lodge a complaint with a Supervisory Authority against a controller/processor for allegedly breaching the GDPR and, in parallel, lodge judicial redress proceedings against the same controller/processor for damages resulting from the alleged GDPR violation.

The case that was referred to the CJEU relates to a shareholder’s request to access audio recordings of a company meeting.  The company provided the shareholder only with extracts of his/her interventions.  Subsequently, the shareholder filed a complaint with the Hungarian Supervisory Authority for a breach of his/her right of access and asking the Supervisory Authority to order the company to disclose additional recordings.  The Supervisory Authority rejected the complaint.  As a result, the shareholder appealed the Supervisory Authority’s decision before a court and in parallel initiated separate judicial proceedings against the company asking for remedies for damages suffered.Continue Reading CJEU Advocate General Finds That Data Subjects May in Parallel Lodge a Complaint with a Supervisory Authority and Start Proceedings Before a Court

On March 4, 2020, Advocate General Szpunar (“AG”) delivered his opinion in the case C-61/19 Orange România SA v Autoritatea Naţională de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal (ANSPDCP).  The AG concluded that a printed telecommunication contract stating that customers consent to the processing of a copy of their…
Continue Reading Advocate General delivers opinion on GDPR consent

On 25 June, the Advocate General (the “AG”) submitted an Opinion on a set of questions that a Spanish court referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “Court”). This is the first time that the Court has been asked to interpret the European Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the ‘Directive’) in the context of internet search engines. The questions concern three main issues:

  • the territorial scope of and the applicable national law under the Directive;
  • whether search engine providers are data controllers; and,
  • whether there is a right to be forgotten.

The proceedings were triggered by an individual who was the subject of some press reports in a newspaper in early 1998. In 2010, he requested Google Spain not to show any links to the newspaper when users entered his name in the Google search engine. The publisher, whom the individual also contacted, refused to erase the relevant data. The individual therefore lodged a complaint with the Spanish data protection authority, which subsequently ordered Google Spain and Google Inc. to take the measures necessary to withdraw the data from their index and to render future access to the data impossible. Google appealed the decision to a Spanish court, which referred the aforementioned questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling.Continue Reading Advocate General Submits Opinion in Google Spain Case