Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/4695

(Case C-590/22,

(PS (Incorrect address))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Article 82(1) - Right to compensation for damage caused by data processing which infringes that regulation - Concept of ‘non-material damage’ - Impact of the seriousness of the damage suffered - Assessment of the amount of compensation - Claim for compensation for non-material damage based on fear - Inapplicability of the criteria laid down for administrative fines in Article 83 - Dissuasive function - Assessment where that regulation and national law are infringed simultaneously)

(C/2024/4695)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: AT, BT

Defendants: PS GbR, VG, MB, DH, WB, GS

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 82(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), must be interpreted as meaning that an infringement of that regulation is not, in itself, sufficient to give rise to a right to compensation under that provision. The data subject must also establish the existence of damage caused by that infringement, without, however, that damage having to reach a certain degree of seriousness.

2.Article 82(1) of Regulation 2016/679 must be interpreted as meaning that a person’s fear that his or her personal data have, as a result of an infringement of that regulation, been disclosed to third parties, without it being possible to establish that that was in fact the case, is sufficient to give rise to a right to compensation, provided that that fear, with its negative consequences, is duly proven.

3.Article 82(1) of Regulation 2016/679 must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to determine the amount of damages due as compensation for damage based on that provision, it is not necessary, first, to apply mutatis mutandis the criteria for setting the amount of administrative fines laid down in Article 83 of that regulation and, second, to confer on that right to compensation a dissuasive function.

4.Article 82(1) of Regulation 2016/679 must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to determine the amount of damages due as compensation for damage based on that provision, it is not necessary to take account of simultaneous infringements of national provisions which relate to the protection of personal data but which are not intended to specify the rules of that regulation.

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Language of the case: German.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/4695/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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