We call the Greek DPA to temporarily block the inclusion of the Personal Number on new ID cards until the necessary risk mitigation measures are implemented!
Since June, the Hellenic Police (EL.AS.) has been issuing ID cards that display the Personal Number (P.A). for citizens who already have one. As of tomorrow, June 28, 2025, it will no longer issue an ID card to any citizen who is eligible for a P.A. but has not yet completed the required issuance process.
In its Opinion 1/2025, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) states that displaying the P.A. on ID cards poses risks and must therefore be accompanied by specific mitigation measures.
However, despite the fact that the Greek State proposed certain measures to the HDPA, which were approved as appropriate, it has failed to implement them, thereby exposing citizens to severe risks of identity theft.
For example, one of the proposed measures was the adoption of legal provisions prohibiting private entities from keeping photocopies of ID cards. This legislative step must be paired with coordinated and intensive public awareness campaigns to ensure that citizens know they should not allow copies of their physical ID to be retained.
At the end of its analysis, the HDPA concludes that, since the risks associated with including the P.A. on ID cards remain, once a sufficient period has passed during which mitigation measures are applied and public authorities are equipped with the necessary tools for digital reading of the P.A., the display will no longer be necessary and the obligation to display the P.A. on the ID card should be lifted.
For these reasons, on Friday, June 20, we submitted a formal request (Ref. No. Γ/ΕΙΣ/5621/20-06-2025), urging the HDPA to exercise its powers under Article 58(2)(f) of the GDPR, and impose a temporary restriction on processing, by prohibiting the display of the P.A. on ID cards until the essential mitigation measures are properly in place to address the significant risks arising from this practice.
Our request is available here (only in EL).
Homo Digitalis participates in 2 thematic workshops of the City of Athens OGP Local
On May 18, at Serafio, Homo Digitalis had the great pleasure of taking part in two thematic workshops organized by the City of Athens OGP (Open Government Partnership) Local Working Group. The workshops focused on Universal Accessibility in Physical and Digital Spaces and Transparency, Accountability, and Participatory Budgeting.
Through a shared methodology of gathering proposals, clustering ideas, and voting, under the coordination of Alexandros Melidis, General Director of the Greek Free Open Source Software Society, we had the opportunity to discuss and jointly decide on a series of particularly interesting proposals.
Our organization was represented in the two thematic discussions by Lamprini Gyftokosta and Eleftherios Chelioudakis, respectively.
We warmly thank the members of the Working Group responsible for designing and implementing the action plan for the City of Athens’ participation in OGP Local, for their kind invitation and excellent collaboration — including Ioannis Fytros, Angelos Kaskanis, and Stefanos Loukopoulos.
Schools in Messinia at the Heart of Digital Awareness
From March 31 to May 7, the NGO Homo Digitalis visited 11 primary and secondary schools across Messinia, bringing education and awareness on internet safety closer to students.
During the workshops held in Arfara, Dorio, Eva, Thouria, Kalamata, Kyparissia, Pylos, Filiatra, Finikounda, and Chora, a total of 554 students engaged with key issues of the digital world, such as: cyberbullying, online safety, recognition and understanding of deepfakes, and responsible use of social media.
Raising awareness and informing both children and adults is a vital step toward a safe and healthy experience in the digital space.
The initiative was supported by the “Captain Vassilis and Carmen Constantakopoulos” Foundation and it will continue with new sessions from September to December 2025.
If your school is located in Messinia and would like to host these free educational sessions, please contact the Homo Digitalis team at info@homodigitalis.gr.
Homo Digitalis meets with the Greek Ombudsman
he Greek Ombudsman welcomed the non-profit organization Homo Digitalis to his offices on June 26, 2025, for a meeting on issues related to digital rights and artificial intelligence. Among other topics, the discussion addressed the role of the Ombudsman under the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, following his designation as one of the fundamental rights authorities under Article 77 of the Regulation.
We warmly thank the Honorable Greek Ombudsman, Mr. Andreas Pottakis, for his time and availability.
Participating in the meeting was Homo Digitalis Co-founder and Executive Director Eleftherios Chelioudakis.
We sent an open letter to the EU calling for a reassessment of Israel’s adequacy decision under the GDPR
Together with European Digital Rights, Access Now, and 16 other civil society organizations, we submitted a second open letter to the European Commission, urging it to urgently reassess Israel’s adequacy status under the GDPR.
Since the Commission reconfirmed Israel’s status in January 2024, the situation has only deteriorated:
Escalating human rights violations in Gaza and the West Bank
Expansion of surveillance systems and biometric repression
Legal reforms undermining oversight of personal data processing
Ongoing data flows to Israeli companies with ties to security services
Use of AI-driven targeting systems in a context where the International Court of Justice has found plausible genocide
Application of Israeli law to occupied territories, in breach of the EU’s own policy
This is not just about technical compliance. It is about whether the EU’s data protection framework can credibly uphold fundamental rights, and whether data originating in the EU is being used to facilitate unlawful practices.
Read the letter here.
We announce the creation of the Pega-Coalition!
Together with the organizations Data Rights, Irídia – Centre per la Defensa dels Drets Humans, Társaság a Szabadságjogokért – Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V., Fundacja Panoptykon and Share Foundation, we announced today in Brussels the network “Pega-Coalition.”
The network aims to coordinate legal actions as well as advocacy efforts against spyware, both at the European level and nationally, in the countries where our organizations operate, namely Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, and Spain.
We have already collaborated with these organizations on related legal actions, such as the successful filing of an amicus curiae intervention in the case of Brejza and Others v. Poland (applications nos. 27830/23) before the European Court of Human Rights in February 2025.
We recall that the Greek Government, under Articles 13 & 47 of Law 5002/2022, has been preparing for over a year now a draft Presidential Decree concerning the conclusion of contracts by state bodies for the procurement of surveillance software or devices. On 19/6/2025 we were informed by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA), in response to our inquiry, that it has received the said draft decree and requested further clarifications, which it is still awaiting.
You can read more about the “Pega-Coalition” network here.
We submitted our views to the European Commission’s public consultation on Article 28 of the DSA
On June 13, Homo Digitalis submitted its responses to the European Commission’s Public Consultation regarding the guidelines for the protection of minors online, within the framework of Article 28 of the Digital Services Act.
The responses to the questionnaire were accompanied by a study, which provided a more detailed explanation of the relevant proposals and concerns.
The editorial team for this action consisted of Stavrina Chousou, Anastasios Arampatzis, Alkmιnι Gianni, Kalliroi Grammenou, and Lamprini Gyftokosta.
You can read the responses to the questionnaire here.
You can read the study here.
