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© Fiskil 2026. All rights reserved.
Products
© Fiskil 2026. All rights reserved.
Each Member State establishes its own penalty structure under Article 40. Understanding these frameworks helps organisations plan compliance approaches.
Netherlands: Up to €1M or 10% of EU-wide annual turnover
France: Up to 5% of global annual turnover for repeat violations
Germany: Up to €5M or 4% of global annual turnover
When personal data is involved, GDPR provisions may also apply. Organizations operating across multiple Member States should understand the varying frameworks.
Regulatory Context
Key Obligations
Article 40: Member States must establish penalty rules by September 12, 2025
Penalties must be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive
No uniform EU-wide cap (unlike GDPR's €20M / 4% maximum)
Member States consider: nature, gravity, scale, duration of infringement; actions taken to mitigate damage; previous infringements; annual turnover
For personal data violations: GDPR penalties (up to €20M or 4%) apply in addition
Enforcement is decentralized—each Member State designates competent authorities
September 12, 2025
Member States required to notify Commission of penalty frameworks
2026
Enforcement expected to ramp up; authorities designated and frameworks operational
Implementation Reality
Challenges
Netherlands: Framework allows up to €1M or 10% of EU-wide turnover, establishing upper bounds
France: SREN Law provisions include 3% base, scaling to 5% for repeat violations
Germany: Federal Net Agency designated with authority for fines up to €5M or 4% of global turnover
Personal data provisions: When violations involve personal data, GDPR penalties may also apply
Multi-jurisdiction considerations: Organizations operating EU-wide navigate multiple frameworks
Enforcement evolution: As of January 2026, Member States are establishing operational frameworks
Solution
Documented Implementation
Article 40 frameworks consider implementation efforts when determining penalties. Comprehensive documentation provides evidence of compliance activities.
Audit Infrastructure
Automated logging and compliance reporting generate records of data access activities, consent management, and recipient onboarding.
Consistent Standards
Standardized approach to data access, consent, and recipient management ensures consistent practices across operations.
Multi-Jurisdiction Support
Single platform architecture supports compliance requirements across different Member State frameworks and regulations.
Trust & Proof
Built by teams with GDPR enforcement experience
Compliance documentation designed for regulatory scrutiny
Evidence generation for penalty mitigation
Track record with regulatory audits
Deployed across multiple EU Member States
Coverage for varying national penalty frameworks
Proven compliance infrastructure at scale
Multi-jurisdiction regulatory expertise
Penalties vary by Member State. The Netherlands permits fines up to €1,030,000 or 10% of EU-wide annual turnover (whichever is higher). France allows up to 5% of global turnover for repeat violations. Germany permits up to €5 million or 4% of global turnover. If personal data is involved, GDPR fines (up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover) can also apply.
Article 40 of the Data Act delegates penalty-setting to Member States, requiring only that penalties be "effective, proportionate, and dissuasive." This differs from GDPR's centralized maximum (€20M or 4%). The result is a patchwork of national frameworks, with some exceeding GDPR levels.
Yes. If a Data Act violation involves personal data, data protection authorities can impose GDPR fines in addition to Data Act penalties. This creates cumulative exposure—you could face both a national Data Act fine and a GDPR fine for the same underlying violation.
Each Member State designates one or more competent authorities. Germany designated the Federal Net Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). France uses the SREN Law framework. This is decentralized enforcement, unlike GDPR's coordinated supervisory authorities and EDPB (European Data Protection Board).
Article 40 requires regulators to consider: nature, gravity, scale, and duration of the infringement; actions taken to mitigate or remedy damage; previous infringements; and the infringing party's annual turnover. Demonstrating good-faith compliance efforts can reduce penalties.
The Data Act became applicable on September 12, 2025, so there is no enforcement track record yet (as of January 2026). For comparison, GDPR has issued 2800+ fines totaling over €6.2 billion since May 2018. Data Act enforcement is expected to ramp up in 2026 as Member States complete their frameworks.
Demonstrate good-faith compliance: implement data access infrastructure, document compliance efforts, respond promptly to data access requests, maintain audit logs, and self-remediate issues before complaints trigger investigations. Regulators consider mitigation actions when setting penalty amounts.
You face multiple penalty frameworks. A violation affecting users in the Netherlands, France, and Germany could trigger enforcement in all three jurisdictions, each with different penalty calculations. Consistent EU-wide compliance is critical to avoid cumulative exposure.
Talk to our team about your EU Data Act compliance needs.