Poland's data protection authority has significantly intensified its enforcement activity. Fines issued by the Urząd Ochrony Danych Osobowych (Office for Personal Data Protection, hereinafter "UODO") have grown in both frequency and scale. International companies treating Poland as a low-risk jurisdiction are now confronting formal investigations, corrective orders, and financial penalties that were rare only a few years ago.
Poland's UODO operates as the national supervisory authority under EU data protection legislation, empowered to impose fines, issue binding corrective measures, and refer matters for criminal prosecution. Recent enforcement actions have targeted failures in consent mechanism design, inadequate data transfer safeguards, and deficient data processor oversight. Companies with processing operations in Poland should treat their GDPR compliance posture as an active risk area requiring immediate review.
This alert explains what has changed, which organisations face the highest exposure, and what steps international businesses should take without delay.
What has changed in Poland's enforcement environment
The UODO has shifted from an authority that primarily issued warnings to one that initiates investigations ex officio and concludes them with substantive fines. Several features of this shift deserve close attention.
First, the UODO has broadened the range of violations it pursues. Earlier enforcement concentrated on data breaches. Recent actions now encompass defective consent mechanism implementation, unlawful profiling, and failures by a data controller to maintain adequate records of processing activities. The authority has also scrutinised how organisations manage their relationships with each data processor, treating inadequate contractual arrangements as a standalone ground for penalties.
Second, the UODO has demonstrated willingness to pursue cross-border matters. Where a Polish entity acts as a local data controller for a foreign parent group, the authority treats that entity as independently liable. Foreign groups cannot assume that their lead supervisory authority in another EU member state will shield the Polish entity from direct UODO action on locally identified breaches.
Third, enforcement has targeted data transfer mechanisms. Poland-based subsidiaries of non-EU companies have received formal inquiries about whether standard contractual clauses are properly executed, supplemented with transfer impact assessments, and reflected in updated processing records. Regulators have found that many organisations implemented the post-Schrems II requirements formally but without substantive review of actual data flows.
For companies operating AI-driven processing in Poland, the intersection of data protection legislation and emerging AI regulation creates additional compliance pressure. Our analysis of AI law obligations in Poland addresses how these two regulatory regimes interact in practice.
Which businesses are affected and what exposure looks like
Enforcement exposure is not uniform. The UODO's recent actions reveal a clear pattern of priority targets.
E-commerce and digital platforms face the highest current risk. The authority has focused on cookie consent mechanisms that do not meet the standard of freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous agreement. Bundled consents, pre-ticked boxes, and consent walls – where service access is conditioned on agreement to processing – have each drawn formal findings against Polish and foreign operators alike.
Financial services and insurance companies are under scrutiny for profiling and automated decision-making. Where a data controller applies automated scoring to customers without providing adequate information or a meaningful right to contest the outcome. The UODO has treated this as a violation of data subjects' rights under EU data protection legislation.
Healthcare and HR-processing organisations face heightened risk due to the sensitive nature of the data they handle. The UODO has issued corrective orders against entities that lacked appropriate technical and organisational measures for special-category data, including health records and biometric identifiers.
International groups with Polish subsidiaries are exposed where the local entity processes personal data on behalf of the group without a compliant data processor agreement. The UODO has held local entities responsible for group-level processing arrangements that do not comply with Polish and EU requirements.
The financial exposure is material. Under EU data protection legislation, administrative fines can reach the higher of a fixed ceiling or a percentage of total annual global turnover. The UODO has used the turnover-based calculation in recent decisions, meaning that a mid-size international group faces a substantially larger potential penalty than a domestic Polish operator of similar size.
To receive an expert assessment of your company's data protection exposure in Poland, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Immediate actions for international companies
Organisations with processing operations in Poland should treat the following steps as urgent priorities. Delaying a compliance review until a formal UODO inquiry arrives substantially reduces the available response options.
- Audit consent mechanisms. Review every active consent mechanism deployed to Polish data subjects. Assess whether each consent is freely given, specific, and granular. Replace bundled or forced consents without delay. Document the remediation steps taken.
- Review data transfer arrangements. Confirm that all data transfers from Poland to non-EEA destinations rely on a valid transfer mechanism under data protection legislation. For transfers using standard contractual clauses, verify that a transfer impact assessment has been completed and that it reflects the actual data flows – not only the flows described in the agreement.
- Assess data processor contracts. Examine every contract with a data processor engaged by the Polish entity. Each agreement must address the mandatory content prescribed by EU data protection legislation. Sub-processing chains require particular attention: where a processor engages sub-processors, each link in the chain must be documented and contractually governed.
- Update records of processing activities. The UODO has repeatedly found that organisations maintain outdated or incomplete processing records. Records must reflect current data flows, legal bases, retention periods, and transfer mechanisms. Where AI tools have been introduced into processing operations, records must be updated to capture those tools.
- Prepare a data subject rights response procedure. The UODO has penalised organisations that failed to respond to access, erasure, and portability requests within the prescribed period. Verify that internal procedures are operational and that responsibility for handling requests is clearly assigned.
A full review of the compliance obligations applicable in Poland is set out on our dedicated data protection service page for Poland. Companies seeking comparative perspective may also find value in reviewing our alert on data protection enforcement in Portugal, where the supervisory authority has pursued similar enforcement priorities.
About Ferraz & Whitmore
Ferraz & Whitmore is an international law firm based in Lisbon, advising business clients across 46 jurisdictions. Our data protection and technology practice supports international companies, digital platforms, and institutional investors in managing GDPR compliance, responding to DPA investigations, and structuring cross-border data transfer arrangements. Engaging a lawyer in Poland or across the EU with cross-border experience makes a material difference when a supervisory authority opens a formal inquiry. As an international law firm with deep knowledge of Polish and EU data protection legislation, Ferraz & Whitmore helps clients build effective compliance strategies and respond to regulatory scrutiny before it escalates. Our attorneys have advised on data controller and data processor matters across both civil law and common law systems, and the firm participates in cross-border practice groups focused on EU data protection and AI regulation. To discuss your data protection position in Poland, contact us at info@ferrazwhitmore.com.
Disclaimer: This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Ferraz & Whitmore assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@ferrazwhitmore.com.