Supreme Administrative Court - Even someone committing a crime is entitled to personal data protection

The Supreme Administrative Court recently decided on an important dispute related to balancing the rights to personal data protection and the protection of property. This case, which was a hot topic among the professional and general public, concerned a fine imposed by the Office for Personal Data Protection on an electric bicycle rental business that published security camera images on social media showing a person suspected of stealing one of the bicycles at its premises.

In this case, the Supreme Administrative Court agreed with the Office for Personal Data Protection. It quashed the Municipal Court’s original decision and remanded the case for further consideration. In its reasoning, the Court stressed the role of the rule of law and the police in identifying perpetrators of criminal offenses and emphasized the importance of the presumption of innocence, which is directly related to personal-data protection. The police and other criminal-law enforcement authorities are empowered by law to disclose personal data to the extent necessary to perform their tasks in searching for persons. This authority is accompanied by legal responsibility for such measures. Granting the same authority to a private person who is not subject to the checks and limitations applicable to a public authority could have adverse consequences. As the Court stated in its reasoning (translated from Czech): “The notion that the controller of this camera system will decide, without any oversight or restrictions, who has committed a criminal offense and publicly stigmatize that person by displaying their likeness (photograph) on the Internet is incompatible with respect for everyone’s private and personal life, including that of possible perpetrators of criminal offenses.”