The Advocate General ('AG') of the Court of Justice of the European Union ('CJEU'), Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona, delivered, on 6 October 2022, their opinion in Case C‑300/21 UI v Österreichische Post AG concerning a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supreme Court of Austria on the rules on civil liability laid down by the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ('GDPR').

In particular, the AG took the view that Article 82 of the GDPR is to be interpreted as meaning that for the purposes of the award of compensation for damage suffered by a person as a result of an infringement of the GDPR, a mere infringement of the provision is not in itself sufficient if that infringement is not accompanied by the relevant material or non-material damage.

Therefore, the AG continued, the compensation for non-material damage provided for in the GDPR does not cover mere upset which the person concerned may feel as a result of the infringement of provisions of the GDPR.

Further, the AG reasoned that it is for the national courts to determine when, owing to its characteristics, a subjective feeling of displeasure may be deemed, in each case, to be non-material damage.

Read the opinion here.