A municipal school would send out an email about the School Platform.
But by mistake a sensitive investigation about a student was attached.
– They have broken the data protection rules, so there may be penalty charges. The school principal can receive some sort of fine, says Daniel Westman, a lawyer specializing in IT and media law.
It was during the Wednesday afternoon that the municipal school would inform all parents that the School Platform will be removed in August.
But instead of attaching the correct document, sensitive information about a student’s autism was sent out. It is a detailed investigation on, among other things, the family situation, pregnancy and childbirth, test results and motor development.
It only took a few minutes for the sender to understand that the error was sent.
“Sorry, wrong attachment in previous mailing. Throw away that email and here comes the right one,” says the email that TV4 Nyheterna has seen.
A total of three emails
In total, the school sent three emails in the same thread. In the last part it is written, among other things: “We will take measures according to procedures for the data protection regulation”
When TV4 Nyheterna reaches Daniel Westman, a lawyer specializing in IT and media law, he tells us that it is not unusual for mistakes like this to happen – especially when it comes to wrongly sent emails.
– Certain types of technology are sensitive to that type of mistake, you should be more careful. The most common type is mis-sent emails. These are fairly simple errors, but which can have major consequences.
Now the school itself has to report the incident to the Privacy Protection Authority, IMY.
– The school has violated the data protection rules, so there may be penalty fees. The school principal can receive some kind of fine.
He also believes that it can be punishable.
– Deliberately violating confidentiality rules can be punishable, i.e. knowingly sharing sensitive information. But that is probably not the case in this case.
TV4 Nyheterna has been in contact with the family, who do not want to comment on the incident. The principal says that they are trying to find out how it could happen and that they have started an investigation.
– It is about a human error.