We coordinate the Digital World Summit Greece web event "AI Board, Advisory Forum and relevant stakeholders: how are private and public sector actors shaping the implementation of the AI Act?"

We invite you to participate in the second Digital World Summit Greece web event on “AI Board, Advisory Forum and relevant stakeholders: how are private and public sector actors shaping the implementation of the AI Act?”, moderated by Homo Digitalis’ AI and Human Rights Director, Lamprini Gyftokosta!

️ Wednesday 17 April

⏲19:00

via YouTube Live, Facebook Live, LinkedIn Live

Speakers:

Tilemachos Moraitis – Government and Corporate Affairs Manager, Microsoft Greece,

Maria Alexandra Papoutsi – AI, Technology & Innovation Manager, KBVL Law Firm | Deloitte Legal

Yiannis Kanellopoulos – CEO, code4thought

Introductory Speech:

Elia Kostopoulou, Member Digital Dialogues

Want to receive a reminder with the event link in your email? Sign up now to join this interesting discussion about the future of our digital world here


Interview of Homo Digitalis on Netzpolitik.org about our great success and the 175.000 euro fine of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority to the Ministry of Asylum and Migration

Homo Digitalis spoke to Netzpolitik.org and journalist Chris Kover for their report on our complaint against the KENTAUROS and YPERION systems and the 175,000 euro fine imposed by the Greek Data Protection Authority on the Ministry of Asylum and Migration. Comments on Homo Digitalis were provided by our Co-Founder and Lawyer, Eleftherios Chelioudakis

You can read the article here.

We would like to thank the journalist for her cooperation and interest in our actions.


Interview of Homo Digitalis to SOLOMON for our great success and the 175.000 euro fine of the Hellenic DPA to the Ministry of Asylum and Migration

Homo Digitalis spoke to SOLOMON and journalists Lydia Emmanouilidou and Apostolis Fotiadis for their report on our complaint against the KENTAUROS and YPERION systems and the 175,000 euro fine imposed by the Greek Data Protection Authority on the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Comments on Homo Digitalis were provided by our Co-Founder and Lawyer, Eleftherios Chelioudakis.

You can read the article and the journalists’ important revelations here.

We sincerely thank the journalists for their cooperation and interest in our actions.

 


We participated with great success in Infolaw 2024

Last Thursday 28 March we had the great honour and pleasure to speek at Infolaw 2024 “Regulating Digital Innovation: AI, Cybersecurity and Platforms” participating in the panel “AI: From Theory to Practice … on AI”.

We were represented there by our co-founder Eleftherios Chelioudakis, who spoke about the challenges posed by Articles 5 and 6 of the AI Act, FRIAs and the tools that civil society has at its disposal to address potential violations of the legal framework.

The panel was moderated by Lillian Mitrou, Professor at the University of the Aegean, Lawyer, and President of the Institute for Privacy, Data Protection and Technology Law with their participants:

-Spyros Vlachopoulos, Professor of Constitutional Law at the School of Law, University of Athens, Greece, Lawyer.
-Telemachos Moraitis, Head of Government Relations at Microsoft for countries in Southeast and Central Eastern Europe, and -Christian Law Professor, University of Athens, Faculty of Law, Law School of Physics and Lawyers, University of Athens, PhD, and -Telemachos Moraitis, Head of Government Relations at Microsoft for countries in Southeast and Central Eastern Europe, and
-Dimitris Kyriazis, Elected Assistant Professor of European Law, Faculty of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

We would like to thank once again the organizers for the inclusion and the honorary invitation!

 


The Hellenic Data Protection Authority fines the Ministry of Migration and Asylum for the "Centaurus" and "Hyperion" systems with the largest penalty ever imposed to a Greek public body

Two years ago, in February 2022, Homo Digitalis had filed a complaint against the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum for the “Centaurus” and “Hyperion” systems deployed in the reception and accommodation facilities for asylum seekers, in cooperation with the civil society organizations Hellenic League for Human Rights and HIAS Greece, as well as the academic Niovi Vavoula.

Today, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority identified significant GDPR violations in this case by the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum and decided to impose a fine of €175.000 euro – the highest ever imposed against a public body in the country.

The detailed analysis of the GDPR highlights the significant shortcomings that the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum had fallen into in the context of preparing a comprehensive and coherent Data Protection Impact Assessment, and demonstrates the significant violations of the GDPR that have been identified and relate to a large number of subjects who have a real hardship in being able to exercise their rights.

Despite the fact that the DPA remains understaffed, with a reduced budget, facing even the the risk of eviction from its premises, it manages to fulfil its mission and maintain citizens’ trust in the Independent Authorities. It remains to be seen how long the DPA will last if the state does not stand by its side.

Of course, nothing ends here. A high fine does not in itself mean anything. The Ministry of Immigration and Asylum must comply within 3 months with its obligations. However, the decision gives us the strength to continue our actions in the field of border protection in order to protect the rights of vulnerable social groups who are targeted by highly intrusive technologies.

You can read our press release here.

You can read Decision 13/2024 on the Authority’s website here.


Homo Digitalis interview with The Press Project on AI and Democracy

Today, AI is closer than ever to our lives and most of us welcome it with awe and suspicion.

But what is actually happening, and what are the challenges and opportunities that AI creates for our societies and democracy?

Lamprrini Gyftokosta, Director of Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights at Homo Digitalis spoke to The Press Project and journalist Jenny Tsiropoulou about relevant issues, as well as about our dozens of actions in the field of AI over the last 6 years!

You can read the article here.

We would like to thank the journalist for her interest in our actions.

 


We participated at DFF’s Annual Strategy Meeting (ASM24)

We participated at DFF’s Annual Strategy Meeting (ASM24)

Two weeks ago, Homo Digitalis’ President, Elpida Vamvaka, was in Berlin at Digital Freedom Fund’s Annual Strategy Meeting (ASM24). We are grateful for the chance to engage in enriching dialogue with such inspiring fellow digital rights defenders working to propel human rights forward!

The meeting’s goals were to share meaningful exchanges and updates on digital rights topics, explore new opportunities to organise and collaborate at the intersection of racial, social, economic and environmental justice, to centre care, to safeguard well-being and to build resilience.

The meeting featured peer-driven highlights from DFF’s network, discussions mapping the 2024 landscape and beyond on digital rights issues, knowledge and skill sharing sessions, and a powerful panel on war crimes & digital rights. Stay tuned for the video coming soon!

Topics ranged from queer & trans*, labour, disability, environmental, welfare, prisoners’, children’s and migrants’ rights, to spyware, surveillance, digital policing, platform accountability, movement lawyering, organising for digital justice, and many more.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the organizers for inviting us, as well as to all individual participants and represented organisations for making this year’s Annual Strategy Meeting a success.


We are participating in Infolaw 2024 to talk about AI and the AI Act

Lawspot.gr and the European Young Lawyers Association of Greece (ELSA Greece), organize the third InfoLaw conference entitled “Regulating Digital Innovation: Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Platforms” on 28 March 2024 at the “Miltiadis Evert” Amphitheatre of Technopolis, Municipality of Athens. This year’s event is supported by Athens Legal Tech and the Hellenic Association for the Protection of Personal Data and Privacy.

Homo Digitalis is honored to be present, participating in Roundtable 1 | AI. The Roundtable is moderated by Lillian Mitrou, Professor at the University of the Aegean, Lawyer, and President of the Institute for Privacy Law, Data Protection and Technology with their participants:

-Spyros Vlachopoulos, Professor of Constitutional Law at the School of Law, University of Athens, Greece, Lawyer.
-Telemachos Moraitis, Head of Government Relations at Microsoft for Southeast and Central Eastern European countries
-Dimitris Kyriazis, Elected Assistant Professor of European Law, Faculty of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and
-our own Eleftherios Chelioudakis, Co-Founder and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Homo Digitalis

We would like to thank the organizers for the kind invitation, the opportunity to express our views and the inclusion! You can register to follow the very interesting discussions in person, and explore the rich programme here.


We participated at Alan Turing Institute's Workshop on th responsible governance of the use of AI in recruitment and employment’

On the 14th of March, our Director on AI and Human Rights, Lamprini Gyftokosta, participated in an online meeting organised by the Alan Turing Institute “Towards responsible governance of the use of AI in recruitment and employment’. Stakeholders from civil society, government, academia, and industry shared their views on best practices for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment and employment, including the development of standards in this field.

Findings from this workshop will help refine the direction and scope of an AI Standards Hub research project led by researchers from The Alan Turing Institute, which will aim to investigate the role of consensus-based standards in governing the use of AI in recruitment and employment across jurisdictional borders.

In Greece, the pilot “AI based strategic workforce planning tool for the public sector” as announced by the Minister of Digital Governance, is an initiative that will apply to more than 700.000 people when completed. As Homo Digitalis underlined during the workshop, harmonised standards in areas like recruitment and employment, even if voluntary, are necessary to create a culture of compliance to the new AI rules. The role of the Greek supervisory authority in enforcing the standards and the law will be paramount, especially since according to the Greek law implementing GDRP, the employees cannot authorise Homo Digitalis to submit a complaint on their behalf without disclosing their names, putting them in an impossible position.