Spain's Data Protection Agency proposes €7,000 fine on La Directa

La Directa AEPD €7,000 fine police infiltrators press freedom

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has opened a sanctioning procedure against the Catalan news outlet La Directa, proposing a €7,000 fine. The agency demands that La Directa remove or pixelate the faces, names and any fabricated identifiers of four National Police agents it exposed as infiltrators in Catalan social and independence movements between 2022 and 2023.

La Directa, journalist Jesús Rodr íguez, lawyer Sònia Olivella of the Irídia centre and several civil‑society groups (Barnils, Òmnium Cultural, Alerta Solidària) denounce the measure as an intimidation tactic that threatens investigative journalism and conflicts with European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence on press freedom. The outlet plans to file objections and may appeal to European institutions.

Support statements from the Assemblea Nacional Catalana and the Grup Barnils echo the concern that the sanction sets a dangerous precedent for media freedom. The AEPD’s approach is contrasted with a similar case in the United Kingdom, where authorities issued apologies after revealing infiltrated officers.

Entities

Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD) · Jesús Rodríguez · La Directa · Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) · Sònia Olivella · Xavier Antich

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 6 SOURCES] The AEPD requires La Directa to pixelate faces and remove names and any fabricated ID numbers of the agents. www.elnacional.cat · www.ara.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[DISPUTED] The exposed agents were intelligence operatives, not subject to any specific legal coverage for privacy. www.ara.cat
[● 6 SOURCES] La Directa published identities of Spanish police agents who infiltrated Catalan social and independence movements between 2022 and 2023. www.ara.cat · www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[● 6 SOURCES] A similar case in the United Kingdom resulted in an apology and disclosure of the infiltrators’ data to affected parties. www.ara.cat · www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[● 6 SOURCES] The AEPD proposed a €7,000 fine against La Directa for publishing personal data of police infiltrators. www.ara.cat · www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[● 5 SOURCES] Irídia’s Sònia Olivella argued that the AEPD’s decision conflicts with European Court of Human Rights rulings protecting journalists. www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[● 5 SOURCES] Journalists and civil‑rights figures, including Xavier Antich, Xavier Monge and Elisabet Borreda, publicly supported La Directa. www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org
[DISPUTED] Four police agents filed a complaint with the AEPD alleging violation of their privacy. www.ara.cat · www.elnacional.cat · www.llibertat.cat · www.meneame.net · info.nodo50.org