We were delighted to accept the invitation of the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) to be a member of the Trustworthy AI Working Group within the framework of the Mozilla Festival!

The group’s work will begin in October 2021! If Homo Digitalis received an invitation to participate, there is also an open application process to join the working group and any organisation interested in taking part can submit their application here.

On 18 and 19 October, the EDEN Conference of the Europol European Data Protection Experts Network (EDEN) is organised in Rome by Europol and the Academy of European Law (ERA).

The conference addresses issues related to the protection of personal data in the field of law enforcement action, and this year’s title is ‘Human after all: Data Protection in Policing’.

Homo Digitalis has the great honour and pleasure to participate in the panel “(Doin’ it right) Making sure good cops are hunting bad guys – not any other way around”. The panel is chaired by the Data Protection Officer and Head of Europol’s Data Protection Unit, Daniel Drewer, and features high-profile speakers, namely Professor Joe Cannataci (UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy), Dr. Nora Ni Loideain (Director of the Information Law & Policy Centre at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, School of Advanced Study) and Ms. Eline Chivot (Senior Adviser on Digital Policy at European People’s Party).

We will be represented at the conference by our co-founding member and Secretary of our Board, Lefteris Chelioudakis.

We would like to thank the organisers for their kind and honourable invitation to Homo Digitalis and in particular Mrs. Alkmini Giannis and Mr. Jan Ellermann.

You can see the conference programme here.

Following the investigation by Forbiden Stories and Amnesty International and the major revelations about the #PegasusProject and the use of NSO’s services by governments and other clients for illegal spying purposes, over 170 organisations and experts, including Homo Digitalis, are today, 27 July 2021, co-signing a joint letter calling on states to suspend the purchase, transfer and use of surveillance technologies!

Read the text of the letter and learn more about the #PegasusProject here.

From August 2 to September 30, 2021, an excellent educational event will take place online, with top speakers, including many members of the Council of Europe’s Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI)!

The summer school is organized by Istanbul Bilgi University under the auspices of the Global Network of Internet & Society Centers, the leading association of research centers in the field of law and new technologies worldwide.

Registration is open until Monday 26 July!

We would like to thank Prof. Leyla Keser and her team for the kind invitation and the excellent cooperation within the CAHAI working groups!

Homo Digitalis will participate in a panel taking place on September 23 along with the excellent Francesca Fanucci and Daniel Leufer from European Center for Not-for-Profit Law Stichting and Access Now respectively. Our organization will be represented by our co-founding member and board secretary Lefteris Helioudakis.

You can see the program, speakers and register ;until 26/7 here.

On 23 June 2021, the Plenary of the Personal Data Protection Authority met to examine the appeals of 5 citizens against the General Secretariat for Civil Protection. The appeals relate to the failure to satisfy the right of access to personal data, as provided for by Greek and European legislation.

Homo Digitalis represented the 5 applicants at the meeting and subsequently submitted a memorandum to the Data Protection Authority. According to European legislation the threatened fine for the GDPR is up to 20 million euros per breach.

The decision of the Data Protection Authority on the case is expected soon.

Brief Background

On 23.11.2020, the applicants proceeded to exercise their right of access to the Controller, General Secretariat for Civil Protection (GSCP), on the basis of Article 15 of the GDPR, by means of an email to the Controller’s address info@gscp.gr, as stated in the GSCP’s Privacy Policy for the use of 13033.

As set out in the GDPR (Article 12(3)), and noted in the 13033 Privacy Policy, the controller must comply with this right without delay and at the latest within one month of the request.

The GGP as controller in breach of the provisions of Article 12(1)(a) of the GDPR shall, in its capacity as controller, ensure that the data are made available to the data subject without undue delay and without undue delay and in full knowledge of the facts. 3 and 4 of the GDPR, failed to reply to the complainants within one month of receipt of the request and failed to inform them, as it was required to do, within one month of the possible impossibility of responding immediately and satisfying their request and of the reasons for the delay, requesting a further extension of the time limit, in breach of the provisions of Article 12(3) and (4) of the GDPR. Moreover, it failed to inform the applicant within one month of the reasons for its failure to act and of the possibility of lodging a complaint and bringing a legal action (Article 12(4) of the GDPR).

In view of the above, two and a half months after exercising the right of access and having received no response from the GGPD, the applicants proceeded on 8/2/2021 to lodge the complaints under consideration before the Personal Data Protection Authority (the Authority).

The Authority invited the GDPR to submit the views on 16-02-2021. The GPO did not respond to this request of the Authority either.

To date (7 months later) the applicants have not received any response to the access requests. A copy of the views of the GSC was first communicated to them on 29 June 2021 following their request to the Authority.

It is noted that the views of the GPO were submitted to the Authority on 18 June 2021 after a significant delay of more than four months. At the first meeting, the GGP submitted a request for postponement of the discussion on the sole ground that the Secretary General for Civil Protection wished to represent the GGP in person, without having presented its views on the appeals up to that point. The request was granted, but the Secretary General did not even attend the adjourned debate.

The subject matter of the appeals is the failure to provide full and correct information and the failure to satisfy the right of access under Articles 15 and 12 of the GDPR.

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), which is the internal research service and think tank of the European Parliament, makes explicit reference to our actions at national level in its new study published at the beginning of July on the use of AI in the field of border protection!

Of course, important references are also made to the European Citizens’ Initiative #ReclaimYourFace!

You can read the study completely free of charge here.

Homo Digitalis participated on 1 July in the SEE Digital Rights Network event on the challenges that arise in the Balkan region for the protection of digital rights.

The event included the presentation of the relevant study by BIRN and SHARE Foundation.
Lefteris Helioudakis, founding member and Secretary of the Board of Homo Digitalis represented the organization at the event.