A BARCELONA restaurant has been whacked with a €4,000 fine after publicly revealing the sexuality and personal details of a customer in retaliation for a negative online review.
The case began when a diner left a one-star rating using only his first name to describe a below-average experience.
The restaurant responded by exposing his full identity – including his university, sexual orientation and details about his partner.
Now the food spot is facing fines of €4,000 due to the accusations of negligent behaviour.
Another reviewer reported a similarly excessive response, with information about other individuals at the table also made public.
Two complaints were filed in May 2024 against Pinkgreen Barcelona SL, triggering an investigation by the Spanish Data Protection Agency.
Regulators found that the comments and its sensitive data remained online for months, prolonging the impact on those affected.
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The AEPD ruled the restaurant had no legal basis to share the information, even if it had been sourced from social media, stressing that publicly accessible data cannot be freely reused – particularly when it involves protected categories such as sexual orientation.
The business was found to have breached the General Data Protection Regulation, including violations of Article 6 (lawful processing) and Article 9 (special category data).
Fines included €2,500 for mishandling sensitive data and €1,500 for unlawful processing.
The company has also been ordered to remove the content within ten days.
Authorities have also highlighted the retaliatory nature of the replies, warning that businesses risk serious legal consequences when they cross the line from defending their reputation to violating customer privacy.
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