Particle.news
Download on the App Store
7 ARTICLES
·
4d ago

France’s Council of State Prohibits Mandatory Use of 'Mr.' or 'Ms.' on SNCF Connect

By invalidating nonessential gender data collection for ticket purchases, the ruling enforces EU data minimization standards.

Image
Le Conseil d’État a jugé, jeudi 31 juillet 2025, que la SNCF ne pouvait pas imposer à ses clients de communiquer leur civilité, que ce soit sur son site Internet ou sur son application. Photo d’illustration.
Adieu «Madame» ou «Monsieur» : la SNCF n'a pas à demander l'identité de genre de ses clients, juge le Conseil d'État
Image

Overview

  • The Council of State declared that requiring customers to select civilité (‘Monsieur’ or ‘Madame’) for every online booking is not essential for fulfilling train contracts.
  • Its ruling implements a January 2025 CJUE decision that enforced the GDPR’s data minimization principle and prohibited nonessential gender title collection for commercial personalization.
  • The CJUE judgment clarified that while some gender data may be justified for services like women-only sleeper compartments, it cannot underpin a blanket requirement across all SNCF Connect offerings.
  • The case originated from an LGBT+ association Mousse complaint to the CNIL in March 2021, and after national rejection, Mousse successfully appealed to the Council of State.
  • The court awarded €3,000 in damages to Mousse, reinforcing judicial enforcement of privacy rights and prompting service designers across the EU to curb unnecessary personal data requests.