EU data protection fines could reach four per cent of business turnover

Four per cent would be the compromise for infringements that concern 'the rights of data subjects'

Businesses could be fined up to four per cent of their annual global turnover for breaching new EU data protection laws, under leaked plans that are up for consideration by the European Parliament and European Commission.

There has been much debate over a number of the areas of the regulation, including the maximum level of penalties that data protection authorities are allowed to impose.

MEPs had supported plans to put a cap on fines of up to five per cent of a firm's annual turnover, or €100m if greater. But the Council of Ministers, which is made up of members from the national governments of EU countries, backed plans for a two per cent turnover cap on fines, under a tiered system of penalties.

But now, a leaked document from the presidency of the Council, published by Statewatch, suggests that the Council has been asked to support compromise proposals, which would see the maximum cap on fines at four per cent of global annual turnover for "an undertaking", or €2m for other organisations.

The four per cent cap would only apply to cases of infringements that concern "the rights of data subjects", while other types of breaches - such as data controller breaching a part of the regulation which concerns obligations or breach cases that concern "non-compliance with an order of the supervisory authority" - will remain with a cap of two per cent of total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding year, without exceeding €1m.

The leaked document also suggested that the Council would look to reignite the debate on whether the appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) would be mandatory.

MEPs had wanted DPOs to be mandatory in certain circumstances, but the Council is keen not to make the appointment compulsory in any case.

There is no set date for the new EU regulations to go into force, but it is thought that it will happen in the first quarter of 2016.