Italy Fines Poste Italiane 12.5 Million Euros over Privacy
Italy's data regulator fined Poste Italiane and Postepay for illicitly processing user data. The watchdog cited intrusive app features and poor transparency.
The data protection authority in Italy has imposed a significant financial penalty on the nation's primary postal and financial services provider. POSTE ITALIANE SPA and its digital payments subsidiary, Postepay, were fined a combined total of more than 12.5 million euros ($14.7 million) following an investigation into illicit data processing practices.
The regulatory body identified several violations of data protection laws, specifically targeting the company's mobile applications. According to the watchdog, certain features designed to detect malicious software were deemed excessively intrusive and went beyond what was necessary for fraud prevention. The investigation revealed multiple breaches, including a lack of transparent information provided to users and the failure to conduct a proper data protection impact assessment before implementing certain data processing activities.
In response to the ruling, the company issued a statement defending its practices and denying any wrongdoing.
Poste rejected all allegations and reaffirmed the correctness and transparency of its actions.
The company maintained that its access to technical data from customer devices was conducted lawfully and in strict adherence to payment services legislation. According to the firm, these measures were implemented for the sole purpose of activating essential anti-fraud and anti-malware safeguards to protect its millions of users.
