What happened with the use of AI in the evaluation of public sector employees?
On November 4, Homo Digitalis took two complementary actions before the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence by the Ministry of the Interior in the evaluation of public sector employees.
1st intervention: We are representing a public sector employee in a complaint filed with the HDPA, requesting an investigation into how the Ministry responded to her request for access to her personal data, as well as broader issues concerning compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
2nd intervention: We are calling on the HDPA to investigate the matter on its own initiative, as the use of AI may affect thousands of public sector employees who may not have been adequately informed.
We recall that, as early as July 2026, together with the Institute for Research on Regulatory Policies and the public sector employee concerned, we had also filed a complaint with the National Transparency Authority, requesting an investigation into compliance with transparency obligations and the requirements for an algorithmic impact assessment. The complaint is currently under investigation.
Artificial Intelligence in the public sector must not operate without transparency, accountability, and respect for workers’ rights! We will continue to call for meaningful oversight and the protection of everyone’s personal data.
Following a complaint we filed, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) has launched an investigation into the National Intelligence Service
The Hellenic Data Protection Authority launches an investigation into the National Intelligence Service (EYP), following a complaint filed by us!
As early as 1997, data protection legislation did not exempt the National Intelligence Service (EYP) from the Authority’s supervisory oversight. Furthermore, the EYP’s internal regulations have required the Service to comply with personal data protection legislation since 2008. However, in 2019, the Mitsotakis government, through Law 4624/2019, restricted the Authority’s competence to oversee the processing of classified personal data by the EYP.
In November 2022, the HDPA itself, in an opinion submitted to the Ministry of Justice, highlighted serious concerns regarding the constitutionality of the legal framework and the effective protection of personal data processed by the EYP. The Authority’s recommendations were not incorporated into the revision of the legislative framework in December 2022 by the then Minister of Justice, Konstantinos Tsiaras.
In March 2026, a citizen represented by our organisation attempted to exercise their personal data protection rights before the EYP by submitting an access request, invoking specific provisions of the law. The EYP failed to respond to the request. As a result, in June 2026, we filed a formal complaint with the Authority.
In October, we were informed that the Authority had launched an investigation into our complaint, requesting that the EYP respond to specific questions concerning its failure to address the citizen’s access request. This is an important development in our efforts to clarify the EYP’s obligations and establish the extent to which the processing of personal data by the Service is subject to independent oversight.
The crucial question remains: How can the protection of personal data be guaranteed in practice when such data is in the hands of the National Intelligence Service?
National security and the protection of fundamental rights must go hand in hand, supported by clear rules, meaningful safeguards, and effective oversight.
Palantir Has No Place Here!
Palantir Has No Place Here!
Together with 127 organisations and trade unions from across Europe, we are calling on governments and the European Commission to cancel their public contracts with Palantir. We would like to thank journalist Dimitris Elafropoulos, who highlighted our joint letter in an article published in the newspaper TO VIMA and featured comments from our Executive Director, Eleftherios Chelioudakis.
Palantir is an American technology company that develops software for surveillance, law enforcement, healthcare data processing, and military operations.
In Greece, the company collaborated with the Ministry of Digital Governance in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, together with Inside Story and Vouliwatch, we brought the related concerns to public attention. Homo Digitalis also requested an investigation by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA), which subsequently led to Decision 43/2022.
Read our joint letter here.
Read Dimitris Elafropoulos’s article in the newspaper TO VIMA here.
The Government’s Third Bill on Social Media Use by Minors
The Government’s approach remains practically unenforceable and, moreover, is now moving in a direction that runs counter to the European Commission’s proposal.
More specifically, following the first bill in April and the second in July 2026, the Government is now introducing a third bill which, instead of providing solutions, creates new problems. The bill was submitted to Parliament on October 13, with its adoption scheduled for October 22.
Despite repeated government announcements, the bill does not require platforms to use KidsWallet or Gov.gr Wallet for age verification. Their use remains optional. In simple terms, this is a regulation without any meaningful enforcement mechanism. Yet another publicity stunt!
At the same time, the Greek approach also runs counter to the European Commission’s proposed EU Kids Act, which covers not only social media, but also video-sharing platforms and video games.
All this is happening despite the legal analyses, letters, and public interventions we have made over the past few months, highlighting specific challenges concerning children’s digital rights and the protection of the digital commons.
The Government has shown no genuine interest in engaging with these concerns. We were not even invited to appear before the competent Parliamentary Committee, despite being nominated by opposition parties. Protecting children online cannot be achieved through publicity stunts.
Interview of Homo Digitalis in the newspaper "TA NEA" on the risks of digital assistants as psychotherapists
Homo Digitalis gave an interview to the Greek newspaper “TA NEA” and journalist Natalia Dionysioti on the risks associated with the increasingly common phenomenon of AI-powered “digital assistants” being used as psychotherapists.
Our organisation was represented by our Executive Director, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, while valuable insights were also provided by Dr. Dimitrios Papadimitriadis, psychiatrist and psychotherapist.
We should keep in mind that when we share thoughts or information with a chatbot, we are not entrusting them to a mental health professional, but to a private technology company. Even when data protection policies and legal safeguards are in place, in practice users have very limited control over how their data is processed or how it may be used in the future.
Looking at it from a different perspective, we would hardly share our most personal thoughts with a company that manufactures shoes or soft drinks. So why do we do it so easily with a technology company?
We would like to sincerely thank the journalist for her interest in our work and initiatives! You can read her article here!
11 Civil Society Organizations Submit Joint Recommendations on the Implementation of the AI Act in Greece
Following their participation in the public consultation launched by the Hellenic Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence on the draft law implementing the AI Act in Greece, 11 civil society organizations have submitted a joint letter to the Special Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence & Data Governance, setting out their recommendations for improving the draft legislation.
Among other issues, the organizations highlight the need to substantially strengthen the Hellenic Data Protection Authority, so that it can effectively fulfill the critical supervisory role assigned to it. Similar concerns have also been raised by the Authority itself in its recent Opinion on the draft law.
Furthermore, making use of the discretion granted to Member States under the European Regulation, we call on Greece to introduce a complete ban on real-time remote biometric identification for law enforcement purposes. The exceptions provided for under the Regulation pose serious risks to fundamental rights and could lead to disproportionate surveillance practices.
We propose a similar approach to the use of comparable technologies for post-event identification, which is currently classified as a high-risk application.
You can read the joint letter at the link below, as well as on the public consultation webpage: https://lnkd.in/dTgjXE4M
The 11 organizations in alphabetical order:
-Network For Children’s Rights
– Greek Forum of Migrants
– Hellenic Informatics Union
– INERP – Institute for Regulatory Policy Research
-Diotima Centre
-HIAS Greece
-Homo Digitalis
-I Have Rights.
-Ιn contACT
-Open Lab Athens
-Visible Machines (VM)
Homo Digitalis Submits an Access to Documents Request to the European Commission Regarding the AI Act
The AI Act was revised. But who shaped the evidence behind that decision? On 29 June, the EU gave its final green light to the Digital Omnibus AI package, revising parts of the AI Act before many of its obligations had even entered into force.
The European Commission additionally relied on an AI Pact survey to support claims that compliance costs were too high. But we wanted to know:
-Who responded to that survey?
-Was the evidence representative of the broader AI ecosystem?
To find out, Homo Digitalis submitted an access-to-documents request to the European Commission, DG CONNECT. They refused to disclose the identities of the respondents, but our request still revealed something important:
Only 44 out of more than 230 AI Pact companies participated in the survey.
Nearly half of those respondents were companies with more than 750 employees.
We also asked for an anonymous breakdown by company size, sector, and geography so that the public could better assess the survey’s representativeness. That information was not meaningfully provided.
When survey evidence is used to justify changes to EU law, citizens should be able to scrutinize whether that evidence is representative, robust, and worthy of informing public policy. That’s why we have now submitted a confirmatory application, asking the European Commission to review its decision.
Read our FOIA and the documents shared by the European Commission here: https://lnkd.in/dyRuAu8S
Homo Digitalis successfully participated in a panel discussion at SNF Nostos 2026
Τhis Monday, 22/6, under the auspices of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Nostos 2026, Amnesty International Greece hosted the panel discussion “Building future movements for human rights” exploring how we can build inclusive, resilient human rights movements for the future in a rapidly shifting political and technological landscape.
Homo Digitalis had the great pleasure to participate in this panel, moderated by Ioannis Papadopoulos (Journalist at Kathimerini newspaper), composed of Elvira Forte (Public Relations Officer at the European Parliament Office in Greece), Reem Abu-Hayyeh (Campaign Manager at Amnesty International UK) and our Executive Director Eleftherios Chelioudakis.
We would like to thank the team of Amnesty International Greece for their kind invitation!
Homo Digitalis Participates in the 2nd Civil Society Alliance Greece Conference
On Tuesday, June 9, the second conference of the Association of Small and Medium-sized Civil Society Organizations (Civil Society Alliance Greece), of which Homo Digitalis is a member, took place at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation Conference Hall. The event focused on an issue that directly concerns the sustainability and credibility of the Third Sector.
Stefanos Vitoratos, Co-Founder and Secretary of Homo Digitalis, represented our organization on the first panel of the event, where he spoke about the organization’s relevant initiatives and activities.
Some of the key issues highlighted during the discussion included:
→ What does a modern transparency framework for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) mean in practice?
→ How can we strike a balance between institutional oversight and organizational autonomy?
→ What mechanisms can strengthen trust among donors, funders, and citizens?
We would like to warmly thank the organizing team, including Faye Drakopoulou and Sotiris Petropoulos, for the kind invitation!