Italian DPA fines BBVA EUR 5,508,000 for failing to respect customer's objection to direct marketing
Original title: Italian DPA fines BBVA EUR 5 508 000 for failing to respect a customer’s objection to direct marketing
The Italian DPA fined BBVA EUR 5,508,000 for failing to respect a customer's objection to direct marketing, which continued for seven months despite the customer exercising their right to object through the app settings and reiterating it to Customer Service. BBVA's claim that a technical synchronisation failure prevented processing the objection does not excuse the violation, as controllers must ensure data subject rights are effective regardless of the submission channel. Controllers cannot require customers to use specific channels for rights exercises if alternative means are provided, and they bear responsibility for maintaining functional systems to process objections promptly.
What changed
- BBVA received a fine of EUR 5,508,000 for violations of Articles 5, 12, 21, and 24 of GDPR
- Clarification that controllers must give effect to objections to direct marketing correctly and in a timely manner, regardless of technical failures in internal systems
- Confirmation that data subjects can exercise their right to object through multiple channels (app settings, customer service), not just channels specified in privacy policies, and controllers must process valid requests from any appropriate channel
- Ruling that technical synchronisation failures between a controller's internal systems and operational units do not exempt controllers from their obligation to process and implement objections within a reasonable timeframe
Who is affected
Financial institutions (banks) operating in the EU, particularly those offering digital services with opt-out mechanisms; data subjects exercising right to object to direct marketing; controllers processing personal data for marketing purposes across multiple communication channels
Summary generated by a language model; the official text prevails. Not legal advice.