Today, following a complaint filed by Homo Digitalis in May 2021 representing our member and data subject Marina Zacharopoulou, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) issued Decision 35/2022 imposing a fine of 20 million euros on Clearview AI for its intrusive practices. This is the highest GDPR fine, ever imposed by the Hellenic DPA. By the same Decision, the DPA prohibits that company from collecting and processing the personal data of data subjects located in Greece using facial recognition methods and requires it to delete immediately any data it has already collected.

Specifically, in May 2021, an alliance of civil society organizations consisting of Homo Digitalis and the organizations Privacy International, Hermes Center, and noyb filed complaints before the competent authorities in Greece, the United Kingdom, Italy, Austria, France and the United Kingdom against Clearview AI for its mass surveillance practices through facial recognition.

Earlier this year, the Italian Data Protection Authority had decided to fine the company €20 million, while the UK’s equivalent authority had decided to fine it £7.5 million.

The €20 million fine imposed by the DPA today is another strong signal against intrusive business models of companies that seek to make money through the illegal processing of personal data. At the same time, it sends a clear message to law enforcement authorities working with companies of this kind that such practices are illegal and grossly violate the rights of data subjects.

Clearview AI is an American company founded in 2017 that develops facial recognition software. It claims to have “the largest known database of more than three billion facial images” which it collects from social media platforms and other online sources. It is an automated tool that visits public websites and collects any images it detects that contain human faces. Along with these images, the automated collector also collects metadata that complements these images, such as the title of the website and its source link. The collected facial images are then matched against the facial recognition software created by Clearview AI in order to build the company’s database. Clearview AI sells access to this database to private companies and law enforcement agencies, such as police authorities, internationally.

The full text of Decision 35/2022 can be found here (only in EL).

Homo Digitalis member Stergios Konstantinou, successfully participated in the International Data Transfers & Compliance Summit in London, UK.

There he discussed issues related to compliance with the provisions of the GDPR regarding the legal bases of processing for transfers of personal data to international organisations and recipients outside the European Economic Area, the latest news on issues related to transfers based on adequacy decisions and other issues related to transfers through binding corporate rules. Among others.

The conference took place on 23-24 June

The Secretary of Homo Digitalis, Lefteris Chelioudakis successfully participated in the important domestic conference on legal issues concerning AI Quo Vadis AI.

The panel we participated in was chaired by the President of the Data Protection Authority, Mr. Konstantinos Menoudakos, and was attended by speakers of excellent quality, namely Professor Eleni Kosta of Tilburg University, Dr. Nienke van der Have, of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Dr. Ioannis Kobatsiaris of CERTH-ITI, and Mr. Andreas Tsagaris of Performance Technologies S.A.

Eleftherios  Chelioudakis focused his presentation on Homo Digitalis cases that have been of interest to the AIPPI over the last 4 years in the field of AI. You can read more about the Quo Vadis AI conference here.

Homo Digitalis had the great honor and pleasure to participate for the 2nd consecutive time in RightsCon 2022, the largest Human Rights conference in the world!

Specifically, on 8/6 our co-founder and Secretary of the Board, Eleftherios Chelioudakis represented us in the panel organized by the organization No Tech For Tyrants, speaking about our actions against intrusive technologies used by the Greek Police, along with speakers from the University of Cambridge, the Internet Freedom Foundation, Mozilla and CESeC!

Also, on 9/6, our team participated in the Social Hour Gathering of European Digital Rights and we had the opportunity to inform the public about our activities at national and European level!

You can find out more about RightsCon2022 and watch our interventions recorded here (registration on the conference platform required).

The European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) mentions in its annual study on Human Rights the actions of Homo Digitalis for the third consecutive year!

It is a great honour and recognition for Homo Digitalis and it arms us with the courage and strength to continue our actions!

You can read FRA’s annual study here.

The signature collection event for the #ReclaimYourFace Initiative, which took place on 4/6 in Athens, was a success.

The event was an excellent opportunity to inform the public about the significant challenges posed by the use of biometric surveillance technologies in public places and the risks to democracy and the protection of Human Rights.

After the event we met with Homo Digitalis members to celebrate four years of Homo Digitalis activities, and to organize future activities!

Today Elpida Vamvaka and Yannis Spanakis spoke to the children of the 41st Primary School of Heraklion about digital footprint and cyberbullying. The students discussed with great interest their concerns and the incidents they face in their everyday life. During the break we handed out free cookies so that we could all learn in a fun way what they represent and what to watch out for.

Many thanks to the management and the teachers for the warm welcome! They deserve a lot of congratulations for the education they give to the children of 41st Elementary covering issues that affect the whole society!

The co-founding member and Vice President of Homo Digitalis, Stefanos Vitoratos, will represent Homo Digitalis at the TRADEMARKS & PATENTS LAW FORUM – Strategies for the Digital Age conference, organized by CLEON Conferences & Communications on Friday, May 27, 2022 at the Divani Caravel Hotel.

The conference is under the auspices of Homo Digitalis together with ELONtech-European Law Observatory on New Technologies and ESIMET – Brand Owners Association Greece-Cyprus-Albania-Romania-Romania-North Macedonia.

The European Digital Rights General Assembly 2022, which took place in Berlin, was a success! There we met with the other EDRi members and communicated our goals for the coming year, planning the next steps to defend our rights in the digital world.

Homo Digitalis was represented by founding members Elpida Vamvaka and Lefteris Helioudakis, as well as our regular member Stergios Konstantinou.

We thank EDRi and its members in Germany Chaos Computer Club, Digitale Gesellschaft, Wikimedia Deutschland e. V., Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. for the excellent organization, hospitality and inspiration for the dynamic continuation of our work.