Homo Digitalis interview to France 24 on the MEP Asimakopoulou emails case
Our co-founder, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, represented Homo Digitalis in an interview with France 24 (the French News Agency) about the illegal transfer of personal data of a large number of Greeks living abroad in the hands of the MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou and the relevant political communication she made to them via email in the context of the upcoming European elections.
We are very grateful to France 24 for its interest in our actions. You can read the interview here.
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 Inside Story about the MEP Asimakopoulou emails' case
The member of Homo Digitalis, Christos Zanganas, represented Homo Digitalis in an interview with Inside.story and journalist Eleftheria Tsaliki on the illegal transfer of personal data of a large number of Greeks living abroad in the hands of the MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou and the relevant political communication she made to them via email in the context of the upcoming European elections.
We are very grateful to the journalist for her interest in our actions. You can read the interview here.
Homo Digitalis interview with The Press Project about the MEP Asimakopoulou emails' case
The member of Homo Digitalis, Nikoleta Georgakopoulou, spoke to The Press Project and journalists Thanos Kamilalis and Konstantinos Poulis about the scandal with the illegal transfer of personal data of a large number of Greeks living abroad in the hands of the New Democracy MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou and the relevant political communication she made to them via email in the context of the upcoming European elections.
We are very grateful to the journalists of The Press Project for their interest in our actions.
You can listen to the excerpt of the interview at 16:15 of the related video on The Press Project’s YouTube channel here.