Homo Digitalis speaks on ERTnews
On Thursday, December 11, Homo Digitalis had the great pleasure of being a guest on the ERTnews program “LIVE NOW”, hosted by Giorgos Kakousis and Nikoleta Kritikou, to discuss the upcoming revisions to the U.S. visa waiver program, ESTA.
The proposed changes foresee the collection of more—and particularly sensitive—personal data, including biometric data, email accounts from the past 10 years, and social media accounts from the past 5 years, among other information.
The plan of the U.S. government is to complete the agreement procedures with the various countries participating in the ESTA visa waiver program by December 2026, so that the new rules can begin to apply from the following year.
The European Union has already, since the summer, initiated the required institutional procedures in order to negotiate at EU level with the United States the framework for the exchange and processing of the relevant data. This framework is expected to form the basis of a comprehensive agreement between the EU and the U.S., upon which Member States, such as Greece, will subsequently be called to conclude the necessary bilateral agreements for the implementation of the new ESTA regime.
In the field of personal data protection, the European Data Protection Supervisor has already issued a relevant opinion on the matter since September. This opinion focuses primarily on the exchange of biometric data, as well as on the necessary safeguards of security, oversight, and accountability that must accompany their processing.
Homo Digitalis was represented on the program by our Executive Director, Lefteris Chelioudakis. We warmly thank ERTnews for the invitation! You can watch the relevant segment here (from 47:00 onwards) here.
Homo Digitalis gives an interview on ATHINA 9.84
This Friday, November 28, at 19:30, tune in to ATHINA 9.84!
Homo Digitalis is delighted to be a guest on the radio show of the Hellenic League for Human Rights, where we will talk about our work in the field of digital rights.
Our Co-founder and Treasurer of the Board, Konstantinos Kakavoulis, will represent us, while the show will be hosted by Taygeti Michalakea, Board Member of the Hellenic League for Human Rights.
We warmly thank them for the kind invitation and the honorable interest in our work!
Press Release on today’s announcement of the Digital Omnibus packages:
The proposed provisions of the Digital Omnibus were made public today, placing our rights and the safeguards protecting us in the digital environment at serious risk.
These new proposed regulations threaten the core of the European data protection framework and a range of other digital rights, directly affecting key instruments such as the GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive, and the AI Act.
The European Commission’s broader deregulation agenda primarily serves the interests of large technology companies, sidelining fundamental rights. Through these choices, the European Commission is effectively deviating from its mission and failing to fulfil its institutional responsibility.
We call on the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to reject this attempt to dismantle the European framework for Digital Rights, and instead to focus on the consistent and effective enforcement of the rules that are already in place.
Read our full press release here.
Joint Open Letter on the Digital Omnibus Packages to the European Commission
On Wednesday, 19 November, the European Commission will present the new “Digital Omnibus,” a reform that threatens to dismantle fundamental protections of our rights and freedoms in the digital sphere.
In May and October 2025, we warned through open letters that this initiative is part of a broader wave of deregulation that will weaken key European rules, portraying rights as an obstacle to innovation and serving the interests of major technology companies.
A few days ago, leaked draft documents confirmed our fears: the EU is one step away from the largest rollback in the protection of human rights in the digital space. The GDPR, ePrivacy, and even the already weak provisions of the AI Act appear to be targeted for dilution, along with other related legislation.
Together with European Digital Rights, 127 organizations, trade unions, academics, and companies are joining their voices and calling on the European Commission to immediately halt any attempt to undermine our fundamental digital rights—efforts that benefit only the business models of large corporate giants.
Read our letter here.
Participation of Homo Digitalis in a Working Group of the European Commission’s AI Office
We’re excited to share that last week Homo Digitalis, represented by our member Tania Skrapaliori, participated in the European Commission’s AI Office Kick-off Plenary for the drafting of the Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-Generated Content (Article 50 AI Act).
We are eager to participate in the respective working groups and actively contribute to this process
During the session, participants heard from the AI Office, met the Chairs and Vice-Chairs responsible for drafting the Code, and learn about insights gathered through the recent multi-stakeholder consultation on transparency requirement
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.
We submitted our report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education regarding the use of AI in education
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Ms Farida Shaheed is preparing her upcoming report for the UN General Assembly in October 2024 on the promotion of the right to education based on artificial intelligence tools.
Homo Digitalis, after completing a tour of schools and conversations with teachers, students and parents, believes that the contribution of civil society with a practical look at this issue is important!
For this reason we have submitted our report before her on Monday 27 May. We would like to thank Anastasios and Viliy Karagiorgou and Lamprini Gyftokosta for their important contribution to the drafting and filing of this report!