The State Commissioner for Data Protection of Lower Saxony, Barbara Thiel, has imposed a fine of 10.4 million euros on notebooksbilliger.de AG. The company is said to have already lodged an appeal against the fine notice.
The supervisory authorities apparently no longer have a problem naming and pillorying companies that violate data protection law.
What is notebooksbilliger accused of?
The company is alleged to have illegally monitored its workers by video for at least two years. The cameras allegedly covered workplaces, sales rooms, warehouses and common areas. The company has claimed that the purpose of the installed video cameras was to prevent and investigate crimes and to track the flow of goods in the warehouses.
We assume that the case will be clarified by the courts in the near future. In the meantime, notebooksbilliger.de has also been using its video surveillance lawfully in the opinion of the LfD Lower Saxony. We do not know what has been changed.
The €10.4 million is the highest fine the LfD Lower Saxony has issued under the GDPR to date.
The procedure shows that the grace period for companies has now expired at the latest. Those who think they still do not have to organise their company according to the data protection laws may have to "pay dearly" for this.
How are fines calculated?
Reminder: Fines are calculated according to the calculation model of the supervisory authorities for fines according to the SALES of a company! Whether your company makes a high profit or any profit at all is not relevant when calculating fines.
Therefore, if you use video surveillance in your company, it is better to have the legal implementation and permissibility checked again by your data protection advisor / data protection officer. They can carry out the checks that may still be missing and prepare the necessary documents for you.
GoldbergUllrich Lawyers 2021
Attorney at Law Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist lawyer for industrial property protection
Specialist lawyer for information technology law
