The Overijssel District Court ruled that the municipality of Deventer must pay a man compensation of 500 euros for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (AVG).
The municipality of Deventer shared data of the man with other municipalities after he had submitted a number of WOB requests.
Officials exchanged data such as his name, gender and place of residence and that is contrary to the AVG. The court therefore ruled that the municipality must pay 500 euros to the man.
The legal aid provider Nick Voorbach assisted the man and in a reaction to De Stentor let know that this ruling was possible by the AVG.
“Previously it was very difficult to obtain compensation in privacy law, because it is difficult to establish that the damage is the result of what happened. The threshold was very high, because really strong evidence was needed,” explains Voorbach. from. “The current AVG says that the loss of control over your personal data and the distribution thereof is in itself damage.”
The AVG has been in force since 25 May 2018. The regulation must ensure that the privacy of citizens is better protected. The law makes it easier for citizens to take action against companies and institutions that carelessly handle data.