Since September, 1 the platform “My Data Done Right” is available for use in Greece.

The platform intends to help users exercise easily and rapidly their rights under the GDPR.

The platform helps users to exercise the right to access, rectification, erasure and data portability. Homo Digitalis has added more than 150 Greek-based organizations in the platform, enabling Greek users to contact them and exercise their rights. The said organizations include banks, air companies, political parties, clothing companies, supermarkets and many more.

Homo Digitalis is proud to have collaborated with Bits of Freedom, which started the platform in the Netherlands in 2018, in order to bring it to Greece. Apart from the Netherlands and Greece, My Data Done Right is available in Austria, Belgium, Germany, UK, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Serbia.

We warmly thank the members of the Homo Digitalis team, namely Stergios Konstantinou, Konstantinos Kakavoulis, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, Christianna Andreou, Antigoni Logotheti, Dimitris Ntosas, Marina Zacharopoulou and Theodora Firingou.

You may use the platform here.

On August, 31 the Greek Data Protection Authority informed Homo Digitalis that it requested information by the Greek Police regarding its contract for smart policing software. Homo Digitalis had filed a requested to the DPA on March 2020.

The DPA calls the Police to inform it regarding the contract signed with INTRACOM TELECOM. More precisely, it requests the Police to provide for a legal basis for the intended processing, as well as the data retention period, information provided to data subjects, etc.

Moreover, the DPA calls the Police to inform it if it has made a Data Protection Impact Assessment on the consequences of the use of such a software on citizens’ rights. The DPA underlines that a DPIA must be conducted not only prior to the operation of such a software, but also prior to its supply, in order to ensure that  privacy-by design standards are met.

Homo Digitalis and Sarantaporo.gr jointly filed comments to the Draft Greek Telecommunications Code. The Code was open for public consultation by the Ministry of Digital Governance.

The two civil society organizations suggested amendments with a view to create a favourable framework for the development and operation of Wireless Community Networks in Greece.

The two organizations also addressed the Minister of Digital Governance with a letter, congratulating him for the great work, which has been done for the Draft Code. They also underlined that the suggested amendments by the two organizations may provide for an additional solution for internet connectivity in remote areas in Greece. Notably, the suggested amendments are based in the EU Directive being implemented.

The suggested solution is in line with the views of the United Nations and the European Commission.

Our letter is available in Greek here.

Our organization is proud to have become observer member to the CAHAI – Ad hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence of the Council of Europe.

Under the authority of the Committee of Ministers, the CAHAI is instructed to examine the feasibility and potential elements on the basis of broad multi-stakeholder consultations, of a legal framework for the development, design and application of artificial intelligence, based on the Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The Committee consists of representatives of the 47 Council of Europe members and representatives of states, such as Canada, japan, Mexico, USA, Israel, the Holy See. Furthermore, representatives of other CoE bodies participate in the Committee, as well as representatives of international organizations (including the EU, UNESCO, OECD, OSCE). Finally, representatives of private companies, academia and civil society organizations contribute to the success of the Committee.

Homo Digitalis was accepted as observer-member to the Committee by the end of June.

We are very pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the Committee plenary on 6-8 July, which will take place as a teleconference. Eleftherios Chelioudakis, co-founder of our organization, will represent Homo Digitalis in the meeting.

We would like to warmly thank the members of the Committee for accepting our application unanimously.

On June 26, Mr. Olivier Micol, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers Director, informed us on the course of our complaint regarding non-compliance of the Greek Data Protection Law (Law 4624/2019) with the EU personal data framework.

The European Commission has carefully reviewed our complaint the Commission services are currently in contact with the Greek authorities to discuss how the LED and the GDPR are implemented in Greece.

If the Commission services will come to the conclusion, after the respective discussion, that the way how the LED and/or the GDPR have been implemented in Greece violates EU data protection law, the Commission has the possibility to launch an infringement procedure against Greece.

You may read the letter by Mr. Micol here.

On February 24, Homo Digitalis and “EKPIZO” Consumers’ Union sent a joint letter to the Greek Prime Minister and all leaders of the parliamentary political parties, requesting the immediate reconsideration of Law 4624/2019 on data protection. However, no action has been taken on the issue yet.

The latest EDRi-gram is out!

An article by Homo Digitalis is hosted in the section “COVIDTech”.

Eleftherios Chelioudakis and Antigoni Logotheti wrote an article for the use of drones by the Greek Police during the Easter period for the lockdown surveillance. The article focuses on the study on “Digital Rights in Greece during the COVID-19 period” published by Homo Digitalis.

The article is available here.

On Friday June 19th our members, Alexandra Giannopoulou, Aimilia Givropoulou and Foteini Stergiou represented Homo Digitalis at a meeting with members of the scientific staff of the Hellenic Copyright Organization (HCO) headed by the HCO Director, Evangelia Vagena.

In the course of the meeting we discussed with the HCO a range of issues concerning the transposition into the national jurisdiction of Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (CDSM Directive) and the amendment of Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC as well as the memorandum (link in Greek) we had submitted in the context of its relevant public consultation.

We would like to warmly thank the scientific team of the HCO for their time, for the very fruitful and productive discussion and for the excellent atmosphere in which it took place!

Today, 14 June 2020, Homo Digitalis submitted its answers and memorandum in the context of the European Commission’s public consultation on the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence.

You can see our suggestions and our answers here.

Homo Digitalis has also actively participated  in the corresponding submission of the European Digital Rights (EDRi) network.

On 17 June, at 18.00 CET the EADPP (European Association of Data Protection Professionals) Greece branch * holds its first online webinar entitled “Doing business online in social distancing era: privacy and communication issues”.

Mr. Konstantinos Kakavoulis will represent Homo Digitalis as a speaker in the webinar.

Participation is free.

The full schedule of the webinar:

“Doing business online in social distancing era: privacy and communication issues”

DATE: Wednesday, June 17th 2020
TIME: 19:00-20:00 EET / 18.00-19.00 CET

Introduction:
-Olga Tsiptse (Chairman GREECE EADPP Branch),
-Marc Vrijhof (Chairman EADPP)

Moderator:
-Dimos Kostoulas (General Secretary GREECE EADPP Branch)

Speakers:
-Dr. Nikos S. Panagiotou (Associate Professor, Google Research Scholar, Daad Scholar, Chevening Scholar, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
-Konstantinos Kakavoulis (LL.M. Lawyer specializing in International Law and Human Rights, Co-Founder and Board Member of Homo Digitalis)

*About EADPP: The EADPP is the 1st European Association for Data Protection Professionals. Its mission is to represent and support its members who are independent guardians of the GDPR. The primary aim of the organization is to facilitate, organize, structure, and represent European data protection professionals based on European perspectives and the principles of the GDPR. In this light, the first initiatives will be to create an EADPP certificate for data protection professionals and to secure proper representation at all relevant levels of the European Union. The EADPP is a not for profit run for and by its members.