EUROPEAN UNION DATA PROTECTION DIRECTIVE
CONSEQUENCES OF BREACH
EU member states have implemented the Directive into their national laws in substantially
the same way. However, some differences exist and these are apparent in
the ways in which data protection law is enforced locally.
Some breaches of data protection law give rise to a criminal offence. For example, it
is usually a criminal offence to fail to register with the appropriate supervisory
authority or to deliberately and knowingly process personal data without the authority
or consent of the controller. The penalties for committing such an offence vary.
Some member states impose custodial sentences and others impose fines only.
In most cases, a breach of data protection law may result in:
- Investigations by the supervisory authority;
- Restrictions imposed upon the use of personal data, in some cases entire databases could be deleted;
- Fines;
- Negative PR.
Where data have been obtained for the purpose of litigation in contravention of data protection law, this may affect the evidentiary value of that data.
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