Testing the limits of purely personal and household use GDPR exemption

In an article on his personal blog, data protection specilaist jon Baines considers a recent High Court judgment, which included a data protection element arising from a dispute between members of the Greenwich Yacht Club over mooring payments for a Dutch barge.

The case addressed claims of harassment, breach of confidence, misuse of private information and data protection against a fellow member who posted about the dispute on a club WhatsApp group, a Facebook feed, and a dedicated website.

In relation to the data protection claim, the judge drew a key distinction in that processing via the WhatsApp group and Facebook feed fell outside the scope of Article 2(2)(a) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as communications restricted to private club members constituted purely personal or household activities.

Conversely, the judge found the personal or household exemption did not apply to the barge-gate website, as established precedent meant that publishing data on the internet makes it accessible to an indefinite number of people. However, the judge indicated that allowing the sole remaining data protection claim to proceed to trial would be disproportionate and that the potential damages would likely not justify the costs.

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