What are examples of GDPR violations?

Asked by: Randall Skiles | Last update: February 5, 2026

Score: 4.3/5 (31 votes)

GDPR violations include failing to get consent, inadequate security (like weak passwords, unencrypted data), not reporting breaches in time, processing data illegally (e.g., for children without parental consent), ignoring data subject rights (access/delete), and unlawful data transfers, seen in huge fines for Meta (child data/consent), Amazon (cookies), and Clearview AI (biometrics). Common examples are poor data handling, lack of transparency, and processing data without a lawful basis, leading to significant penalties.

What constitutes a GDPR violation?

A personal data breach is a breach of security leading to an impact on the availability, confidentiality, or integrity of your personal data. A breach of the UK GDPR could lead to accidental or unlawful destruction, unauthorised disclosure, or your personal data being compromised.

What are some famous GDPR breach examples?

Meta's 1.2 billion euro fine: The cross-border data transfer debacle.
Google's violation of GDPR's right to be forgotten.
Twitter's failure to notify the breach.
Cathay Pacific: A wake-up call for the industry.
TIM S.P.A – failure to uphold data subjects' rights.
Make GDPR compliance easy and your default state with Sprinto.

What are 10 examples of sensitive personal information?

Definition of Sensitive Personal Information

Racial or ethnic origin.
Political opinions.
Religious or philosophical beliefs.
Trade union membership.
Genetic data.
Biometric data.
Health data.
Sexual orientation or sex life.

What are the 7 main principles of GDPR?

Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency; ▪ Purpose limitation; ▪ Data minimisation; ▪ Accuracy; ▪ Storage limitation; ▪ Integrity and confidentiality; and ▪ Accountability.

What Are The Severe Penalties For GDPR Violations? - SecurityFirstCorp.com

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What is the GDPR in simple terms?

In simple terms, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a strict EU law giving people more control over their personal data and requiring companies worldwide to handle it securely, transparently, and fairly, applying to any business that deals with data of EU residents. It emphasizes user rights like accessing, correcting, or deleting their info, mandates data protection by design, and enforces heavy fines for non-compliance.

How do you prove you are following GDPR regulations?

Data controllers can choose to use other tools such as codes of conduct and certification mechanisms to demonstrate compliance with data protection principles. You may adhere to a Code of Conduct prepared by a business association which has been approved by a DPA.

What counts as sensitive personal data in GDPR?

genetic data, biometric data processed solely to identify a human being; health-related data; data concerning a person's sex life or sexual orientation.

What is data masking?

Data masking is the process of hiding data by modifying its original letters and numbers. Due to regulatory and privacy requirements, organizations must protect the sensitive data they collect about their customers and operations.

What are common types of data breaches?

The 7 Most Common Types of Data Breaches and How They Affect Your Business

Stolen Information.
Ransomware.
Password Guessing.
Recording Keystrokes.
Phishing.
Malware or Virus.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

How do you prove a GDPR breach?

Potential Evidence That Could Help You Make A Data Protection Breach Claim

Correspondence from the organisation relating to the data breach incident.
Medical reports or records that illustrate how the breach has affected your mental health.
Bills, receipts and invoices that prove financial losses were caused by the breach.

What are the top 3 big data privacy risks?

What Are The Top 3 Big Data Privacy Risks?

Cyberattacks and hacking.
Lack of transparency in data usage.
Non-compliance with privacy laws.

What is the biggest GDPR fine?

1. Meta GDPR fine- €1.2 billion. In May 2023, in a groundbreaking decision in the past five years of GDPR enforcement, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) imposed a historic fine of €1.2 billion on US tech giant Meta.

What is not classed as personal data in GDPR?

Information concerning a 'legal' rather than a 'natural' person is not personal data. Consequently, information about a limited company or another legal entity, which might have a legal personality separate to its owners or directors, does not constitute personal data and does not fall within the scope of the UK GDPR.

What are the six lawful basis under GDPR?

Article 6 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out what these potential legal bases are, namely: consent; contract; legal obligation; vital interests; public task; or legitimate interests.

How serious is a violation of the GDPR punished?

For especially severe violations, listed in Art. 83(5) GDPR, the fine framework can be up to 20 million euros, or in the case of an undertaking, up to 4 % of their total global turnover of the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher.

What is obfuscate data?

Data obfuscation is a process to obscure the meaning of data as an added layer of data protection. In the event of a data breach, sensitive data will be useless to attackers. The organization — and any individuals in the data — will remain uncompromised.

What are the four types of encryption?

Types Of Encryption

Symmetric encryption. In this simple encryption method, only one secret key is used to both cipher and decipher information. ...
Asymmetric encryption. ...
Data Encryption Standard (DES) ...
Triple Data Encryption Standard (3DES) ...
RSA. ...
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) ...
Encryption in the cloud. ...
End-to-End encryption.

What type of data is typically considered during data masking?

Which Data Requires Data Masking? Here are the most common data types that require data masking: Personally identifiable information (PII)—data that can be used to identify certain individuals. This includes information like full name, passport number, driver's license number, and social security number.

What are the four types of sensitive data?

Sensitive data can be classified into four main types:

Public – Low data sensitivity or public classification.
Internal – Moderate data sensitivity or internal classification.
Confidential – High data sensitivity or confidential classification.
Restricted – Extremely sensitive data or restricted classification.

Is an email address personal data under GDPR?

A work email address is personal data under the UK GDPR if it can identify a specific individual. Generic addresses (such as info@company.co.uk) are less likely to be personal data, but this depends on context. If an email address is personal data, you must handle it in line with GDPR and PECR rules.

What is not classified as sensitive personal data?

Gender, while personal, is generally not classified under sensitive personal information in many data protection laws, although it is still personal data. Therefore, among the given options, gender is usually not considered SPI.

What are the 7 golden rules of data protection?

The principles are: Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency; Purpose Limitation; Data Minimisation; Accuracy; Storage Limitations; Integrity and Confidentiality; and Accountability.

What is the GDPR checklist?

Follow the 10-point checklist below to move your organization closer to full GDPR compliance: Determine whether you can collect data lawfully. Categorize all the data you collect and process. Decide whether you need a data protection officer (DPO) Implement sufficient cybersecurity measures.

How to explain GDPR in simple terms?

GDPR is an EU law with mandatory rules for how organisations and companies must use personal data in an integrity friendly way. Personal data means any information which, directly or indirectly, could identify a living person. Name, phone number, and address are schoolbook examples of personal data.