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CJEU on Article 15 EU GDPR: DSARs require meaningful explainability of automated decisions; trade secrets no bar, balancing by authorities (CK v Magistrat der Stadt Wien & Dun & Bradstreet)

Published on: 28 March 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Information Law expert

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Article summary

Automated decision-making and DSARs: access rights imply a right to explainability (CK v Magistrat Der Stadt Wiendun & Bradstreet Austria GMBH) CK v Magistrat Der Stadt Wiendun & Bradstreet Austria GMBH, Case C-203/22

What was the background

Austrian resident CK was refused a mobile phone contract after an automated credit check by Dun & Bradstreet Austria GmbH (D&B) rated her as not creditworthy. Relying on Article 15(1)(h) of the EU GDPR, she sought more detail from D&B on how the assessment was made, including the steps taken. When the Austrian data protection authority asked D&B to give ‘meaningful information’ on the logic underpinning the automated decision that used CK’s personal data, the company shared limited particulars but withheld other aspects, arguing the protection of trade secrets, notably its algorithms. The Federal Administrative Court in Austria ruled that D&B infringed CK’s Article 15(1)(h) rights by failing to provide meaningful insight into the logic behind the automated decision affecting CK, and by not adequately justifying its partial non-compliance. It determined that D&B’s reliance on confidentiality did not excuse lacking comprehensible detail about logic applied, nor the absence of reasons supporting decision to withhold parts of the explanation. CK applied to the Administrative...

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