Italian data‑protection authority fines Altroconsumo Edizioni €280,000

The Garante per la protezione dei dati personali imposed a €280,000 fine on Altroconsumo Edizioni Srl for multiple GDPR violations. The regulator found that the company collected personal data through registration forms that were never completed and then used those data for email marketing without a lawful basis. It also ignored opt‑out requests, failed to respond promptly to data‑subject rights, and did not cooperate with the authority during the investigation. The case began after a citizen complained of receiving promotional emails despite never completing the site’s membership form. The Garante ordered Altroconsumo to stop processing data of users who did not confirm account creation and to bring its data‑handling procedures into full compliance with the GDPR.