The Court of Justice of the European Union has established a crucial precedent by ruling that a mere violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) does not automatically give rise to a right to compensation. For an affected individual to receive compensation, it is essential to prove the actual existence of damages, both material and non-material, and to demonstrate a direct causal link between that infringement and the harm suffered. This interpretation requires the claimant to show concrete negative consequences, although no specific threshold of severity is required, which could otherwise undermine legal coherence. In this context, the relevance for open data lies in the balance between the transparency of public data and the protection of individual privacy. Although open data principles promote the availability of information, this judgment reminds us that any processing of personal data, even in the context of algorithmic analysis or targeted advertising, is strictly subject to the GDPR. Bodies that manage or share data must ensure that their practices not only comply with regulatory requirements but also safeguard individuals against abuses that cause demonstrable harm, thereby avoiding liability for compensation. Furthermore, the ruling reaffirms the autonomy of national judges to determine the amount of compensation, respecting the principles of equivalence and effectiveness. This implies that the legal consequences of privacy violations vary according to the internal legal framework of each Member State, provided that the minimum protection required by the EU is maintained. For the open data community, it is vital to understand that innovation and openness are not immune to privacy-related claims; on the contrary, the ability to compensate for actual damages is a mechanism of accountability that must be integrated into the ethical governance of data.
Source: noticias.juridicas.comPublished on 2023-05-12
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