A Norwegian court has confirmed a €5,5 million fine against the dating app Grindr for the third time, rejecting the company’s appeal against the original 2021 decision by the national data protection authority. The Borgarting court of appeal upheld the fine imposed on Grindr for its unlawful practice of sharing user data for advertising purposes.
The case originated in 2020 following a complaint by the Norwegian data protection authority issued the 65 million NOK fine in 2021. Grindr unsuccessfully appealed to the privacy appeals board and then to the Oslo district Court.
Following decisions from the Norwegian Data protection authority and the privacy appeals board, plus a ruling in the Oslo district court, the court of appeal has issued its decision: Grindr has violated the general data protection regulation and the fine of 65 million Nok is upheld.
The things to consider; this ruling constitute a strong signal:
The collection, sharing and exploitation of personal data is out of control, and now it is finally being cracked down on. This decision sends a strong signal to all companies in commercial surveillance industry, which profits from extensive tracking and profiling of consumers.
The Norwegian apex court emphasize that there should not be a free-for –all when it comes to collecting and sharing personal data.
Further it’s important to note that there are many examples of how such information is being used to manipulate and to influence every aspects of the public life, from elections to targeting advertisements at consumers in vulnerable situations. Or how such data can also be used to persecute minorities, such as refugees, economic migrants and the LGBTQ communities
#DataProtection #Privacy #commercialSurveillance #GDPR #DataProtectionAuthority #DigitalRights #DatingIndustry #PrivacyAppealBoard
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