From Secrecy to Transparency: The Five-Year Battle for the Publication of Police Camera Operation Decisions

Strategic legal action takes time, but its outcomes benefit society as a whole, strengthening public trust in institutions.

In December 2020, Homo Digitalis, in collaboration with Reporters United and The Press Project, formally requested access to the Hellenic Police’s decisions regarding the operation of drones and other portable cameras in public spaces, as stipulated in Article 12 of Presidential Decree 75/2020. Despite the legal obligation to publish these decisions publicly, the police refused access, disregarding the transparency required by law.

A few months later, in May 2021, we filed a joint complaint before the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA), citing repeated non-compliance by the police—at least 67 times over a short period. The HDPA launched an investigation into the legality of these practices.

In early 2024, we submitted a request for access to HDPA documents to better understand the progress of the investigation. Correspondence between the Hellenic Police and the HDPA revealed that, even as of March 2024, the police continued to argue that Presidential Decree 75/2020 did not require them to publish camera operation decisions, despite the HDPA’s opposing view.

Yesterday, through a report by journalist Giannis Bazaios in Efimerida ton Syntakton, we learned that such a decision had been published on the Hellenic Police’s website. Indeed, upon verification, we found that as of February 17, 2025, the police had changed their practice and begun publishing these decisions as required by law. The report was published today online here.

From the initial refusal in 2020, it took five years for this change to be implemented. We now eagerly await the final decision of the HDPA and the conclusion of its investigation, which will establish a definitive framework for transparency and accountability within law enforcement.


Homo Digitalis talks to the newspaper Kathimerini about the body-worn cameras of the Hellenic Police and our related actions

The upgrade of the Police surveillance equipment is expected to be completed in the near future, as the tender for the supply of cameras has ended.

These are about 400 24-hour cameras to be installed on patrol cars, as well as 2,000 “wearable” cameras, i.e. integrated into the uniforms of police officers, which will be able to record at will and transmit live images to the operations centre using telecommunications networks.

Homo Digitalis spoke to Kathimerini and journalist Elvira Krithari about our actions together with Reporters United & The Press Project regarding the use of cameras from 2020 & 2021 and the investigation conducted by the Data Protection Authority since then. Our team was represented by Eleftherios Chelioudakis

We would like to thank the journalist for her interest in our actions! You can read her article here.

More about our relevant actions from 2020 & 2021, here.