European Union: Filed request for preliminary ruling in lawsuit regarding the compensation for non-material damage under the GDPR (Patērētāju tiesību aizsardzības centrs v A) (C-507/23)

On 8 August 2023, the Augstākā tiesa Senāts (Supreme Court) of Latvia filed a request for a preliminary ruling by the CJEU regarding a lawsuit on the compensation for non-material damage under the General Data Protection Regulation (Patērētāju tiesību aizsardzības centrs v A) (C-507/23). The supreme court seeks clarification on several aspects of Article 82(1) of the GDPR. Specifically, it asks whether the unlawful processing of personal data constitutes, in itself, unjustified interference with an individual's right to data protection and whether such processing allows for the obligation to apologise as the sole form of compensation for non-material damage when restoration of the prior situation is impossible. Additionally, the court questions whether the regulation permits setting a lower amount of compensation based on the circumstances that reflect the attitude and motivation of the data processor. The original case concerned the distribution of a video featuring a character imitating the original applicant without his consent.