PIN Entries at Vienna City Ikea Were Illegally Filmed

Ikea has been fined 1.5 million euros for illegal video surveillance, several media reported on Tuesday. At the branch at Vienna's Westbahnhof, cameras allegedly filmed passersby in front of the store and the checkout area, including PIN entries, unlawfully. The Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) confirmed the original penalty decision of the data protection authority, it was reported to APA. However, Ikea intends to appeal, claiming no data was processed.

Million-Euro Fine for Ikea Due to Illegal Video Surveillance in Vienna

The BVwG largely followed the data protection authority in its decision, according to the reports. The starting point was an administrative penalty procedure for data protection violations from spring 2022. The investigations revealed 30 violations of data protection regulations. Ikea was sentenced to a fine of 1.5 million euros and to pay the procedural costs of 150,000 euros.

The court confirmed 28 of the alleged 30 violations. According to the ruling, one camera recorded PIN entries of identifiable customers and stored the recordings for 72 hours. Six other cameras monitored areas for which there was no legal basis. The fields of view of seven cameras were too large and were not entirely or partially necessary for the stated purpose, such as snow removal control.

Additionally, in certain areas, the digital pixelation of uninvolved persons was missing. Ikea blamed a former employee of a security company for this in the trial. However, according to the ruling, the man was not technically capable of implementing this. Ikea also did not restore the masking.

Ikea Announced Legal Remedies

Ikea announced legal remedies. "We hold the position that since our electronic security system does not process any personal data and the recorded individuals or their data entries were not identifiable, a data protection violation could not have occurred per se," said Christina Strauss, Head of Public Relations at Ikea Austria, according to the German portal "heise.de," which was the first to report on the verdict. "And even if it did, the penalty amount is 'significantly exaggerated' from our perspective, especially since no one was harmed. Of course, we cooperate with the authorities. Compliant data protection is 'a top priority' for the Swedish furniture giant. Video surveillance of the entrance and checkout area is necessary at the Vienna Westbahnhof location to combat theft and vandalism.

Unlike Ikea, the Federal Administrative Court has come to the conclusion that from March 25 to May 25, 2022, at least several tens of thousands of different people were visibly filmed. The reasoning indicates that Ikea filmed a highly frequented public area: The Vienna Westbahnhof attracts many people daily, even at its side entrances. Additionally, a tram station and the exit of a subway station were captured. Ikea put the surveillance system into live operation before the data protection assessment was available, reported ORF-Vienna, "Presse," and "futurezone.at" on Tuesday, following "heise.de".

No Material Damage to Affected Parties

The Federal Administrative Court did not find any material damage to the affected parties, and the non-material damage was minor. In particular, the filmed PINs were not misused. The cooperation of the furniture store, its clean record, the rectification of the issue, the deletion of the recordings, and the absence of financial benefits were mitigating factors.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.