Nothing stops the Italian Data Protection Authority from its battle against unlawful telemarketing, this time imposing fines of €40,000 against Comparafacile and €100,000 against Tiscali.
Comparafacile
Following a report filed by a citizen, the Authority found that the online price comparison company had acquired personal data from certain individuals through a foreign company, subsequently contacting such individuals without their consent and failing to provide any information. The Authority reiterated the position that a mechanism forcing users to express interest in the services of a company to obtain information shall be considered unlawful.
Tiscali
In the case of Tiscali, the company provided incomplete information, failing to specify any timeframe for the retention of customer data, particularly for marketing and profiling purposes. The Authority deemed this behavior inadequate for fulfilling the obligation of providing information, even though it did not cause any actual harm to the data subjects.