Unoccupied buildings, which are also known as “lost places,” have attracted a great deal of attention for years. Buildings, which were once full of life and bustling places, are now abandoned. Videos, in which “urban explorers” explore vacated locations and properties, attract high numbers of clicks on the Internet. From the point of view of data privacy law, it is dangerous if sensitive documents, like patients’ or human resources files, are still located in these buildings. Exploring “lost places” may often be against the law, but this does not prevent people from visiting these mysterious sites. If it is then possible to find files and documents from the previous business operations at the site, a perfect data privacy scandal has been created. Who wants to have their own, sensitive data freely circulating and accessible to anybody?
“Lost places” tell stories, but what happens to the documents and files if a corporation or an office is dissolved? And what do those responsible for data have to consider when retaining documents after liquidation so that they do not face the risk of consequences and a data privacy scandal?