When British Airways and Marriott International received massively discounted General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fines from the U.K.’s data regulator, critics said the decisions sent the “wrong message” to companies that penalties levied under the privacy law could be challenged effectively.

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...