Council of State: users opening an online account must immediately understand whether their personal data - protected in their economic value also by the Consumer Code - will be processed for marketing purposes.

The Council of State clarified (ruling no. 9614/2024) that anyone opening an account on any online platform must be able to immediately understand whether the data provided will be used for marketing purposes, without having to navigate through various screens. Therefore, structures or forms of organisation of platforms that make it complicated - or in any case not immediate - to acquire this information are not lawful - resulting in a misleading commercial practice. This ruling once again highlights how the principle of transparency in data processing is not only a pillar of data protection, but also part of the commercial fairness of economic operators.