In Spain, the data of millions of freelance workers is shared unlawfully by the registrar of freelance workers and the tax authorities with other public authorities, who then repurpose the data. Freelancers have noticed that this data has become accessible through search engines and private companies are selling individual profiles for up to EUR 40. The freelancers themselves are not informed if or how their data is transferred and used.
Xnet completed research in 2021 on the ways in which Spanish data protection legislation fails to properly respect European data protection standards on this issue. They confirmed their hypothesis that the data of millions of freelance workers is being shared illegally and mapped out a litigation strategy. They also made the finding that “blue collar” freelance workers (drivers, delivery people, etc) suffer from violations much more than “white collar” freelance workers (consultants, etc.).
In December 2022, Xnet filed a complaint to the Spanish Data Protection Agency.