The current General Data Protection Regulation has been the subject of articles full of false information in recent weeks. The situation often has to be dealt with by the Data Protection Authority. In this context, we recommend checking any suspicious article.
Disinformation about wi-fi fines and the DPA’s intervention
Not all articles written about the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) contain correct information. The topic of GDPR is starting to permeate so-called fake news. These aim to induce hysteria or outright fear. In such situations, the Data Protection Authority (DPA) often has to intervene.
For example, at the end of February, the latter was forced to deny a disinformation article entitled “Restaurants and hotels face liquidation fines for freely available wi-fi network” published on the E15 daily’s website. On the aforementioned website, you can now find it under the headline “Restaurants and hotels are not threatened with liquidation fines for freely available wi-fi network” and with the text that the originally mentioned information was not based on the truth.
The original article mentioned, for example, that from May, when the regulation comes into force, businesses will have to compulsorily password-protect their wi-fi connections. According to the authors, this would mean that freely available wi-fi networks would disappear from public places altogether. However, according to the OCC, data transmission is regulated by completely different directives, not the GDPR, and it is up to each person to voluntarily connect to an unencrypted network, thus exposing their personal data to potential risk.
Other misinformation from the text mentioned above included, for example, the claim that the operators of an unsecured network are responsible for any cyber-attack, or the astronomical fines they face for violating wi-fi obligations.
We therefore recommend that you verify any information you come across in relation to GDPR. If you suspect any text you read is fake news, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to help you investigate the information.