One million euros for TotalEnergies and bad publicity on the CNIL website: this is the sanction adopted by the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties against Totalenergies, energy producers and suppliers formerly known as Total.
In its opinion, the CNIL explains that it has singled out Totalenergies for several breaches of the regulations in force in terms of commercial prospecting: on its website, the company offered an online form for subscribing to a new offer. Simply this authorized the company to call the customer for commercial prospecting operations without offering him the possibility of refusing this canvassing. A new customer was therefore automatically enrolled in Totalenergies’ commercial prospecting programs, which goes against the provisions of article L. 34-5 of the post and electronic communications code according to the CNIL.
In addition to this discrepancy, the CNIL indicates that it has noted several breaches of the principles set out by the GDPR, this time more specifically concerning the telephone canvassing of people. The CNIL thus underlines the breach of the obligation to inform people canvassed by telephone of their rights: “the essential information concerning the processing of their data was not communicated to the people contacted” and they could not access it. pressing a key at the start of the call, for example.
In the same vein, the CNIL notes that Totalenergies’ telephone canvassing methods did not make it possible to respect the right of access to data and the right of opposition. And also specifies that the company has not responded to requests for the exercise of these rights by the customers concerned within one month, the maximum duration provided for by the texts.