UK & Italy Lead the Way for GDPR Penalties

A recent report published by Finbold, the online financial news and analysis portal, relating to fines sanctioned during 2020 for breaches of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, has indicated that €171.3m in financial penalties was issued by data protection agencies in EU Member States during that 12-month period. In 2020, a total of 299 fines were registered in the EU.

Speaking about the report Finbold chief editor, Oliver Scott, said: “Despite campaigns to have organizations enact better measures to protect consumer data, the violations recorded across the EU remain significant with the law coming into place in 2018. It will be interesting to see if organisations will take up extra responsibility to prevent breaches in 2021. However, stakes remain high for companies to avoid risking regulatory action for breaches and protecting reputation alongside legal actions.”

Italy sanctioned the highest amount in GDPR financial penalties at €58.16 million of the overall amount of fines. This was made up from 34 separate GDPR breaches. In second place, the United Kingdom accounted for €43.9m in GDPR fines. However this was only in relation to three separate violations. Combined, the fines sanctione din the UK and Italy make up 59.5% of total figure.

The three fines in the UK were as follows:

Included among the Italian fines were the following:

Among the other nations included in the top ten Germany ranked tenth with €37.39m and three major breaches, Sweden accounted for 15 breaches with €14.27m in GDPR penalties, while Spain had €8m in GDPR fines with 28 incidents.

The top ten was comprised as follows:

Italy – €58,161,601
United Kingdom – €43,901,000
Germany – €37,398,708
Sweden – €14,278,800
Spain – €8,021,210
France – €3,309,000
Netherlands – €2,080,000
Norway – €1,050,800
Belgium – €793,000
Ireland – €630,000

Some of the biggest fines for individual breaches of GDPR during 2020 included: