Data Protection Authority Fines Ísbúð Huppu 5 Million

The ice cream parlor Ísbúð Huppu has been fined five million ISK by the Data Protection Authority for electronic monitoring in one of its locations.

According to DV, who originally published the story, complaints originated from the parent of an underage employee.

The complaints concerned the digital surveillance of a room used by many of the employees to change into work uniforms. Furthermore, it was stated that the employees had not been given sufficient notice regarding the surveillance nor educated regarding their rights.

In its ruling on the case, the Data Protection Authority released the following statement:

“The conclusion of the Data Protection Authority was that the processing of personal data that was part of the monitoring did not rely on a satisfactory authorization for processing in accordance with the Data Protection Act and neither the transparency requirement nor the proportionality requirement of the law was observed. It is also the conclusion of the Data Protection Authority that no clear warning has been given about monitoring with a signal or in any other way and that the obligation to educate employees has not been observed. Finally, it is the conclusion of the Data Protection Authority that Huppuís ehf. has violated point 5. Paragraph 1 Article 41 Act no. 90/2018, which deals with the Data Protection Authority’s access to data, during the investigation of the case.”

Exacerbating the fine were the number of offenses and the involvement of minors, who have special consideration in cases of personal data protection.

In the future, Ísbúð Huppu is supposed to stop such monitoring, delete existing records, and review its training procedures.

Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.

You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.

Also you can get regular news from Iceland—including the latest notifications on eruptions, as soon as they happen—by signing up to our newsletter.