The Personal Data Authority (AP) is fining Locatefamily.com 525,000 euros. Locatefamily.com publishes people's address and phone numbers, often without those people's knowledge. If they want their data removed, it is not easy because Locatefamily does not have a representative in the EU. Not having a representative in the EU is a violation of the privacy law and the reason for the fine.
To force Locatefamily.com to open a counter in the EU, the AP is also imposing an order under penalty. The company had until March 18, 2021 to appoint a representative in the EU. If it has not done so, Locatefamily.com must pay 20,000 euros for every 2 weeks that the order is not met, with a maximum of 120,000 euros. Locatefamily.com has not confirmed to the AP at this time whether it has now appointed an EU representative.
The AP has received dozens of complaints about Locatefamily.com. This site lists full addresses and sometimes phone numbers of people who do not know how their data ended up on the site. In any case, they did not register themselves.
This state of affairs has a major impact on people whose data appears on Locatefamily.com. Thus, unsuspecting people may suddenly be surprised with unexpected visitors on their doorstep.
'That a site simply publishes your name, phone number and address without your knowledge is objectionable,' says AP vice president Monique Verdier. What is private must remain private. With this kind of information malicious people can commit identity fraud. Or visit you at home or harass you by phone or e-mail.'
'If you want to share that information, of course you can. But you have to be able to choose that yourself. At Locatefamily.com many people don't get that choice. And if your address and phone number do end up on such a site, you should at least be able to easily arrange for that information to be removed from the site. That is not possible here. This is partly because Locatefamily.com has no representative in the EU. That is why we are fining Locatefamily.com.
Organizations offering services or products in the EU must set up a counter for EU citizens to go to for information or to exercise their privacy rights. Locatefamily does not have one.
The AP mediated for those people who wanted their personal data deleted. In most cases, Locatefamily.com has since deleted their data.
Locatefamily.com is a platform where people can search for contact information for family members they have lost track of or people they would like to get in touch with.
The platform contains personal data of people all over the world, including from the EU. Around 700,000 Dutch people are listed on the site.
The site and therefore all personal data are freely accessible to everyone. Locatefamily.com compiles overviews without people having to become members or create an account.
Locatefamily.com operates internationally. Several European regulators also received complaints about the company. Therefore, the AP cooperated with 9 other European privacy regulators and the Canadian privacy regulator in the investigation.
