The newest issue of GDPR Today is out!

Today, June 11th 2019, the new issue of GDPR Today has been released including many articles and statistics about the compliance of GDPR!

Read first the latest news at a Member-State/ EU level that concern the GDPR provisions’ implementation, one year after its enforcement!

Moreover, the “GDPR in numbers” section provides statistical information with great interest concerning Data Protection Authorities by 14 Member States, including these of Greece and Cyprus!

At this point, we would like to whoheartedly thank the Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data of Cyprus and the Hellenic Data Protection Authority for their in full and excellent cooperation and for sharing the necessary statistical data, once again!

This issue has been edited by the organisation European Digital Rights.

Homo Digitalis participated in the issue together with the following organisations:

• • Access Now
  • Chaos Computer Club
  • Association for Technology and Internet
  • Data Skydd
  • Frënn vun der Ënn A.S.B.L.
  • Panoptykon Foundation

Homo Digitalis has the great pleasure and honour to participate in the organizing committee of the 4th Data Privacy & Protection Conference! Our Vice President, Stefanos Vitoratos, is actively involved in organizing the Conference together with the well-known executives and renowned professionals in the field of personal data protection and privacy.

The event takes place on Tuesday 25^th of June 2019 in Maroussi of Attica Region, and is the annual leading DPOs conference in Greece!

At this conference, speakers from our country and abroad will share and exchange their experiences and further elaborate in the level of compliance of Greek and EU organisations and will advise on the proactive actions required to fulfill better level of compliance with GDPR! The conference also will focus on modern technologies and global developments in the issues of personal data security.

You can see the full program of the 4th Data Privacy & Protection Conference and the speakers here.

Registrations are open and Homo Digitalis members could register with a special discount voucher!

We want to wholeheartedly thank the rest members of the Organizing Committee for the excellent cooperation and Boussias Communications for the excellently detailed preparation of the event.

Today, on 30.05.2019, our organisation lodged a complaint (reference number CHAP201901564) before the European Commission against Greece for non-compliance with the EU law on the protection of personal data (Directive 2016/680 and GDPR).

The complaint is related to Directive 2016/680, which regulates the processing of personal data by the national law enforcement authorities for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties. According to article 63 of this Directive, Member States shall adopt and publish, by 6 May 2018, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith notify to the Commission the text of those provisions.

However, Greece has not transposed and adopted such law provisions yet, one year and twenty four days after the end of this deadline. Therefore, Greece breaches the mentioned Article 63

The provisions of the Directive 2016/680 are of the utmost importance for the protection of Democracy and the Rule of Law, as they provide a high level of protection for data subject’s rights against the processing of such data by the police or other national law enforcement authorities. This Directive replaces a very poor legal framework, the Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA, which unfortunately had an extremely limited scope (cross-border data exchange between the law enforcement authorities of Member States) and was not striking the right balance between law enforcement authorities’ needs in the course of their investigations and the rights of the people that are at the center of these investigations. As a result the legal principles around the processing of personal data were not respected and data subjects’ rights were noticeably weakened.

Thereby, for the first time, a single European framework that regulates the way the policeman of the neighbouring department, the border guard etc. can process our personal data and clearly provides how we shall exercise our rights to the police or other law enforcement authorities. You can find further information on the Directive 2016/680 here.

Greece by delaying the proceedings of such legislation and the adoption of the necessary provisions at a Member State level deprive data subjects and Greeks from their rights, as enshrined in the paragraphs 12-18 of the Directive, while creates concerns about citizens’ trust in the ways the law enforcement authorities treat their personal data. Specifically, the non transposition of the provisions concerning data protection by design or by default, the non keeping of the records of processing activities, etc. decrease public’s trust concerning the lawful processing of their personal data operated by these authorities.

Furthermore, the complaint raises issues related to the Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR). Specifically, our organisation highlights that despite the fact that GDPR shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all member states, by 25.05.208, the European legislator has transferred important issues at the discretion of Greek legislator. These latter issues are related to the i.e. the minimum age for child’s consent in relation to information society services (article 8), provision for further conditions and restrictions on the processing of genetic and biometric data or data concerning health (article 9), NGO’s right independently of any data subject’s award to lodge a complaint and exercise the rights referred to articles 78 and 79 GDPR (Article 80), penalties for infringements which are not subject to administrative fines (Article 84), the processing of employees’ personal data in the course of their employment (Article 88), and obligations concerning confidentiality (Article 90).

Therefore, Greece without having up to date – one year and five days after the enforcement of GDPR– draft law, creates uncertainty to data subjects and Greeks with regard to the protection of their rights and confusion about the specific issues as mentioned above which are in need of direct implementation.

European Commission will process our complaint within the period of twelve months and will inform us οn its progress.

You can find the proof of our submitted complaint and its full text here. Finally, you can see our organisation’s press release here.

Today, on 20 May 2019, EDRi and 41 other organisations, Homo Digitalis included, sent an open letter to the European Commission, requesting the organisations’ active inclusion in the implementation process of the newly adopted Copyright Directive, through the upcoming stakeholder dialogue.

Specifically, as provided for in Article 17 para. 10 of the new Copyright Directive, as of 6 June 2019 the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, shall organise stakeholder dialogues to discuss best practices for cooperation between online content-sharing service providers and rightholders.

Therefore, by today’s open letter, the signatory organisations express their wish to be actively involved in this process, in order to achieve the establishment of a working group that will consist of representatives of organisations who aim to protecting and promoting Human Rights in current digital era. Given the provisions of Article 17, and the challenges deriving from the protection of privacy and the freedom of expression and information on the Internet, the participation of the mentioned organisations is considered necessary within the Commission’s organised dialogues.

You can learn more about the letter in the relevant article of EDRi and see the full text here.

Today, Homo Digitalis was hosted by the Greek-French School of Piraeus “Saint Paul” and spoke to the students of the Secondary and High school about digital rights.

Specifically, Homo Digitalis conducted a presentation concerning cyberbullying and its consequences to the students of Secondary school and proposed protection ways. In addition to this, Homo Digitalis talked to the students of 1st and 2nd grade of the High school about digital footprints and their rights regarding their personal data.

Mr. Panagiotis Gialis, member of Homo Digitalis explains to the students of Secondary school the consequences of Cyberbullying

The following members of Homo Digitalis have worked for the presentation: Mrs. Mary Mouzaki, Mrs. Anastasia Karagianni,  Mr. Panagiotis Gialis, Mr. Kimonas Georgakis,  Mrs. Maria-Alexandra Papoutsi and Mr. Konstantinos Kakavoulis.

Mr. Konstantinos Kakavoulis, a Saint Paul graduate and founding member of Homo Digitalis, discusses with High school students about protection ways against Cyberbullying

In fact, the members of Homo Digitalis, Mr. Kimonas Georgakis and Mr.Konstantinos Kakavoulis had the pleasure to visiting the school they graduated from, with a completely different role this time.

Mr. Kimonas Georgakis, a Saint Paul graduate, talks to High School students about digital footprint

Mrs. Maria-Alexandra Papoutsi, member of Homo Digitalis explains to the students of the 1st and 2nd grade of the High school the right to access

We would like to thank the Administration of the High School for this invitation! Special thanks go to Mr. Antonis Voutsinos, Deputy General Manager of the school, to Mr. Koutsa, Head of the High school, to Mrs. Stamataki, High School Director, to Mr. Rousso, Deputy Director of the High School, and to Mrs. Lymberi for their impeccable hospitality.

High School Director, Mr. Koutsa, High School Director, Mr. Stamatakis, with the two graduates of Saint Paul and the President of Homo Digitalis, Mrs. Elpida Vamvaka

Stay tuned! There will be more presentations at schools!

Today, Homo Digitalis was hosted by Evangeliki Model High School of Smyrna and spoke to the students of the 1st and 2nd grade of the High school about digital footprints and their rights regarding their personal data.

The presentation was conducted in order to prepare the students for their participation in the Youth Parliament (in Greek: “Βουλή των Εφήβων”, Vouli ton Efivon).

The following members of Homo Digitalis have worked and participated in the presentation and the project: Mrs. Mary Mouzaki, Mrs. Anastasia Karagianni, Mr. Panagiotis Gialis, Mr. Kimonas Georgakis, Mrs. Maria-Alexandra Papoutsi and Mr. Konstantinos Kakavoulis.

We would like to thank the Administration of the High School for this invitation!

Stay tuned! There will be more visits in schools!

Two years since the entry into force of the new rules on net neutrality, the European Commission has launched today, the 03.04.2019 their report regarding the implementation of these provisions by the Member States.

Unfortunately, the Commission’s report on open internet doesn’t provide the necessary deep analysis, which one would have expected. Specifically, it comes, in spite of its size, to general and superficial conclusions without addressing any issues of the omissions of the concerned Member States, including our country, concerning the implementation of these provisions.

These shortcomings have been underlined to recent corresponding studies carried out by recognised organisations of civil society, such as of Epicentre.works.

As a reaction to the situation which has been established and in order to express openly the risks that arise in the European Union, concerning net neutrality, 29 organisations of civil society, Homo Digitalis included, sent today an open letter addressed to the European Commission and the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).

The letter stresses out the need to ensure in practice the protection of Internet users (natural and legal persons), in order the Internet traffic to comply with the principle of non-discrimination. The letter’s purpose is to reopen the debate with the European institutions for the upcoming revision of BEREC’s guidelines, and shall be an opportunity of improvement in the problematic situation that has occurred.

What we hope is a real digital single market that protects and promotes the open, neutral and non-discriminatory access to the Internet.

The full text of the letter is available here.

Today, 29.03.2019, Homo Digitalis had a very interesting and important meeting with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, Mr. George Sarlis, regarding the draft law which implements the GDPR and incorporates Directive 2016/680/EU.

Konstantinos Kakavoulis and Stefanos Vitoratos represented our organization and advocated for the adoption of regulations aimed at providing citizens with more protection. Stay tuned for more details.