The Guardian reported: “Hundreds of thousands of EU nationals have been unfairly fined for driving in London's Ures Clean Air Zone, according to European governments…”
The Guardian reports that Transport for London (TfL) has been accused by five EU countries of illegally obtaining the names and addresses of citizens in order to issue fines since 2021, totaling more than 320,000 cases. A fine of 1,000 euros has been imposed. …
Since leaving the EU, the UK has been prohibited from automatically accessing the personal information of EU residents. Transport authorities in Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands have confirmed to the Guardian that driver data cannot be shared with the UK due to the implementation of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ures), and registered The driver's details were illegally obtained by police agents. TfL contractor Euro Parking Collection. In France, more than 100 drivers are suing over claims their details were fraudulently obtained, while truck drivers in the Netherlands are suing TfL for more than £6.5 million in illegally imposed fines. is filing a lawsuit against.
Belgian MP Michael Freilich, who investigated the matter on behalf of his constituents, said TfL was making Europe's drivers a “cash cow” by using ill-gotten data to impose unwarranted fines. It is said that it is treated as such.
According to the article, Freilich described the situation as “probably one of the largest privacy and data breaches in EU history.”
Some drivers have even been hit with fines of up to five figures for compliant vehicles that simply aren't registered yet. And: “Some low-emission vehicles are incorrectly classified as heavy-duty diesel vehicles and can be fined under a separate low-emission zone scheme, with fines of up to £2,000 per day.”
Thanks to Slashdot reader Bruce66423 for sharing the article.