Complaints Filed with Spanish Data Protection Agency Rise by 12% in 2012

Among the highlights of the report:

• A total of 8,594 complaints were filed with the DPA in 2012, which represents a 12.37% increase over the 7,648 complaints filed in 2011;

• The DPA has seen a noticeable jump in its overall activity, having experienced a 15% increase in data file registrations and having issued close to 40% more resolutions in 2012;

• In terms of complaints received by the DPA, the the telecommunications (2,652), video-surveillance (1,271), financial institutions (1,077), and Internet services (404, not including spam) sectors experienced the largest increases;

• Complaints regarding phishing and the right to be forgotten have increased substantially. In particular, complaints about phishing attempts involving attackers posing as companies from the energy and water commercialization sector have increased by 222% and complaints about phishing attempts involving attackers posing as companies from the telecommunications sector have increased by 92%; and

• Requests regarding the right to be forgotten have seen an increase of more than 13% over the previous year. The report highlights the evolution from three requests filed with the DPA in 2007 to a total of 181 requests filed in 2012.

The report also disclosed the following facts about penalties and sanctions issued by the DPA:

• The amount of sanctions has increased by 7.43%, reaching 21.1 million Euros globally.

• The majority of penalties have been imposed on businesses in the telecommunications sector, which accounted for 73% of total penalties, amounting to 15.4 million Euros. Three of the biggest telecom operators accumulated 70.94% of the global sanctions.

The annual report for 2012 and other related information can be found, in Spanish, on the Spanish DPA website here.

Authored by César Ortiz-Úrculo