The CNIL has just issued 10 new fines for, in particular, cases of car geolocation and surveillance of employees by their companies
The National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) does not only have its eye on digital giants, like ChatGPT. The regulatory body is also there to ensure that the confidentiality of individuals’ data is respected on a daily basis, particularly in relation to the company that employs them. So when the latter go a little too far, the CNIL makes headlines, with a certain number of fines!
97,000 euros fine
The CNIL has cracked down again. It has just imposed 10 new fines against companies, but also public actors, for a total amount of 97,000 euros. The regulator observed infringements in four particular areas:
- the obligation to respond to requests from the CNIL;
- information on the treatment implemented and its facilities;
- the obligation to respect individual rights, and in particular to respond to a request for opposition;
- data minimization (geolocation as well as continuous video surveillance of people).
The simplified procedure, a guarantee of efficiency?
This last failure is particularly present in the series of cases investigated by the CNIL. The Commission thus notes that the installation of a geolocation instrument in the car of an employee who cannot be suspended or arrested is an excessive infringement of the freedom to come and go, but also of the right to private life.
Likewise, continuous and permanent surveillance of employees is a disproportionate infringement of their rights. The objectives of establishing proof or preventing workplace risks are therefore not sufficient to justify such methods.
These sanctions were able to be taken quickly by the CNIL thanks to the establishment last year of a simplified sanction procedure, used for files without particular difficulties and which lead to the institution of fines of less than 20,000 euros. The CNIL also explains that it will continue in the future to pronounce “ regularly sanctions within the framework of [cette] procedure “.
Source : CNIL
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