Homo Digitalis spoke at the Tech & Society Summit in Brussels
Last Tuesday 1/10, Homo Digitalis was in Brussels, participating at the Tech and Society Summit co-organised together with the European Digital Rights and more than other 40 organisations!
This event aimed to bring civil society’s voices to the forefront of EU’s digital policy debates. Together we are building this space to create a bridge between digital rights organisations and new policymakers to achieve accountable, people-focused policies that advance everyone’s digital rights.
Eleftherios Chelioudakis, represented us in the Summit speaking at the session “Visionary Round-table: Building an EU Digital Enforcement Strategy” organised by BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation and moderated by European Digital Rights’ Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal! It was a unique opportunity for us to share our enforcement actions aiming at facilitating redress of harmed individuals in Greece!
Also, we actively participated in the Round-table Fundamental Rights in focus: Joint efforts for Spyware Regulation in the EU, organised by Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe and Amnesty International, sharing insights from the latest developments of the PREDATOR scandal in Greece and the related legislative initiatives of the Greek State.
We would like to sincerely thank the organizers for inviting Homo Digitalis to participate and share our views and actions on these important topics!
We prepared an explanatory video on the Greek DPA's Decision on the new ID cards
On Monday 23/9 the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued Decision 32/2024, which relates to the new identity cards for Greek citizens.
The Authority found deficiencies regarding the provision of general information to data subjects, and further found that the required data protection impact assessment was carried out late and deficient. For these reasons, it imposed an administrative fine of EUR 150,000 on the Ministry of Citizen Protection, as controller, for the above infringements, while at the same time it issued a compliance order to the Ministry within six months. Finally, the Authority pointed out the obligation to update and codify the legal framework regarding the details of the new type of identity cards for Greek citizens.
The Decision 32/2024 of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority is available here.
The Homo Digitalis team has prepared a short explanatory video in plain language to highlight some important points of this Decision.
The video is available here.
We co-organize and participate in the Tech & Society Summit in Brussels
The Tech and Society Summit is approaching and will take place on Tuesday, 1st October in Brussels! This exciting conference, co-organized by EDRi in collaboration with Homo Digitalis and over 40 other organizations, will bring together leading experts, policymakers, and human rights advocates to discuss the intersection of technology and societal impacts in Europe. The summit will cover critical issues, ranging from digital rights and climate change to AI regulations, contributing to the shaping of a fair and equitable digital future for all.
We are excited that Eleftherios Chelioudakis will represent Homo Digitalis as a speaker at the session Visionary Roundtable: Building an EU Digital Enforcement Strategy. With important laws such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA), and AI Act, Eleftherios will highlight the actions of Homo Digitalis, discussing how these regulations can effectively protect rights and boost Europe’s competitiveness in the digital space.
Additionally, Homo Digitalis has been invited to participate in the session Fundamental Rights in Focus: Joint Efforts for Spyware Regulation in the EU, co-organized by the Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe (CDT Europe) and Amnesty International. In this session, key policymakers and civil society representatives will meet to explore ways to regulate spyware in the EU, and we will discuss our experiences from the latest related developments in Greece.
You can read more about the Tech and Society Summit and view its program here.
Homo Digitalis met with representatives of the Ministry of Digital Governance for the national implementation of the AI Act
September started with important meetings for Homo Digitalis in the context of the European Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) at national level!
Specifically, on September 4, we had the honor to meet with the Ministry of Digital Governance and its representatives Mr. Vassilis Karkatzounis and Mr. Papagiotis Papaspiliopoulos in order to exchange views on the implementation of the AI Act in Greece. We were represented at the meeting by our Director for AI and Human Rights issues Lamprini Gyftokosta and our co-founder Eleftherios Chelioudakis. We would like to thank the representatives of the Ministry for their positive response to our request for a meeting, the and the very fruitful dialogue!
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Homo Digitalis participates in the European Commission's Open Consultation on General-Purpose AI
Yesterday, 18/9 Homo Digitalis submitted its responses to the European Commission’s Open Consultation under the title “FUTURE-PROOF AI ACT: TRUSTWORTHY GENERAL-PURPOSE AI”. The consultation covered issues concerning the future implementation of the AI ACT legislation and how to make the use of General-Purpose AI models trustworthy.
Homo Digitalis’ position paper on the Consultation was prepared by our organisation’s AI & Human Rights Director, Lamprini Gyftokosta and our member Tania Skrapaliori
You can read our statement here.
Participation of Homo Digitalis in the 52nd Book Festival
Homo Digitalis has the great honour to be present at the 52nd Book Festival taking place at the Pedion tou Areos.
Specifically, on Thursday 19 September at 20:15, our co-founder and President Elpida Vamvaka will participate as a speaker in a round table organized on the main stage of the festival by the Association of Book Publishers (S.E.B.) & the Hellenic Comics Academy on the topic “Is art written with AI?”
The discussion will be moderated by Panagiotis Papageorgiou (Lawyer, Member of the Greek Comics Academy) and Dimitris Doukoglou (illustrator, presenter, stand-up comedian).
Other important speakers of the round table include Vassilis Vlahokyrikakos (Associate Professor of Human-Computer Interaction) , Abraham Kawa (Author, Translator & Theorist of Culture) and George Nathaniel (IT and Management Consultant).
You can find out more about the full Festival programme here.
Letter from Homo Digitalis before NCRTV on the obligations arising from Regulation 2024/1083
On September 3, Homo Digitalis submitted an open letter (no. 4844-3-9-24) to the The National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV), in which it raised two (2) questions regarding the application of the provisions of Article 25 of Regulation 2024/1083 on the establishment of a common framework for media services in the internal market.
In particular, as stipulated in Article 25, par. 2-3, the competent independent authorities in the Member States shall monitor and submit an annual report on the allocation of public advertising expenditure to media service providers and online platform providers. Those annual reports shall be made publicly available in an easily accessible format and shall be based on the information made public on an annual basis by electronic and user-friendly means by public authorities or entities that have incurred public advertising expenditure.
This information shall include at least:
(a) the official names of the media service providers or online platform providers from which services have been purchased,
(b) where applicable, the official names of the business groups to which any media service providers or online platform providers belong; and
(c) the total annual amount spent and the annual amounts spent per media service provider or online platform provider.
In view of the above, Homo Digitalis submitted the following two (2) questions before the NCRTV:
1 ) Has the NCRTV proceeded with the publication of the relevant annual report for the year 2023 regarding the allocation of state advertising expenditure to media service providers and online platform providers? If the NCRTV does not have the relevant competence, before which body should we appeal?
2) Does the NCRTV know whether public authorities or entities which have incurred expenditure on state advertising have complied with their obligation to publish annually by electronic and user-friendly means the information detailed in Article 25(2) of Regulation 2024/1083? In what ways could we as civil society monitor the respective activities of public authorities/entities in order to assist you in your work and inform you of any shortcomings in their compliance?
We hope to receive an answer to our questions soon.
Civil Society Common Statement: United Against Spyware Abuse in the EU and Beyond
Spyware isn’t just a privacy issue — it’s a threat to the very foundations of our democratic values. By undermining independent decision-making, restricting public debate, and silencing journalists and activists, spyware erodes the pillars of a healthy civic space.
As new European Union institutions prepare to take office following the EU elections, the growing threat of spyware has become a pressing global concern that demands immediate attention.
On Tuesday 3/9, Homo Digitalis joined Center for Democracy and Technology Europe (CDT Europe), alongside 30 civil society and journalists' organisations in publishing a joint statement urging the incoming EU institutions to prioritise action against the misuse of spyware in the new legislative term.
Some of our coalition’s key recommendations include:
- A ban on the production, sale, and use of spyware that disproportionately harms fundamental rights.
- Stronger export controls to prevent the misuse of these technologies beyond the EU.
- Transparency and accountability in government contracts involving spyware.
As Silvia Lorenzo Perez, Director of CDT Europe’s Security, Surveillance & Human Rights Programme, puts it: "The incoming EU institutions have the opportunity to correct the failures of the last legislature by taking concrete and decisive action against the abuse of spyware surveillance."
The new EU institutions must seize this moment to restore public trust, protect our fundamental rights, and uphold the values that define the Union.
You can read the EN version of the letter here, and the EL version of the letter here.
Homo Digitalis has also addressed related concerns, before the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights in a recent Open Letter submitted in August. You can read more about this here.