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Ulez fines scandal: Italian police ‘illegally accessed’ thousands of EU drivers’ data
(www.theguardian.com)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The names and addresses of thousands of EU drivers were unlawfully accessed by Italian police and shared with the company that collects Ulez penalties on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), investigators believe.
Authorities in the Netherlands and Germany have stated that their databases were also illegally accessed by an agent in Italy in what one Belgium MP has called “the biggest data and privacy breach in EU history”.
The fines are alleged to have been issued illegally because since Brexit, national laws allow the UK to access the personal data of EU citizens only for criminal offences, and breaching Ulez rules is a civil contravention.
TfL, in its response to the FoI, said: “We are aware that the Belgian National Chamber of Judicial Officers issued a notice on 23 March 2022 that stopped the country’s [vehicle registration agency] DIV sharing data with companies who were passing it on to foreign authorities.
However, the ruling does not prevent [Euro Parking] from obtaining keeper details directly from the DIV which has been the method used for PCNs [penalty charge notices] issued to Belgium registered vehicles after 23 March 2022.”
The Belgian transport ministry has confirmed DIV is not permitted to share data with Euro Parking or TfL for UK civil enforcement and says it has since found evidence that the company has been obtaining the information via an Italian police force.
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