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.
We spoke at the Legal Seminar 2023 on EU Law and Undocumented Migrants in Brussels!
On 29 and 30 November, Homo Digitalis’ Director for Human Rights and AI, Lambrini Gyftokosta, spoke at the “Legal Seminar 2023 on EU Law and Undocumented Migrants” organized by the Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and Equinox: Racial Justice Initiative at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel!
The two-day seminar examined the intersection of racial profiling, policing and immigration control. We presented three of Homo Digitalis’ actions in Greece on digital rights violations, which further blurred the boundaries between criminal and immigration law.
We were joined on the discussion panel by an amazing group of experts, namely Selma Benkhelifa (Progress Lawyers Network-Brussels), Sara Traylor (Alarm phone) and Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard (moderator, independent expert).
We would like to thank PICUM and Equinox for the invitation and for organising such an event exploring the pitfalls of the current EU legal framework on immigration. It was a great honour to participate!!! You can read more about the two-day event here.
FRONTEX responds to Homo Digitalis' Request for Access to Information on EUROSUR and the deadly shipwreck in Pylos
In June 2023, Homo Digitalis had filed a request for access to documents before FRONTEX in order to explore whether the EUROSUR system, which is composed of drones and satellites, among other technologies, was in operation during the fatal ship’s voyage from 9 to 13 June in the Mediterranean Sea and the reasons why it did not prevent this fatal shipwreck.
Today, FRONTEX replies that the EUROSUR system, despite being fully operational, has not been able to do what it promises, namely to detect large vessels that may be used by criminal organisations to transport people in the Mediterranean, putting the lives of the latter at high risk. This is a major revelation by Homo Digitalis, demonstrating that the very expensive – tens of millions of euros – solutions promised by technology companies to complex issues such as border management and the protection of people who put their lives at risk have failed. EUROSUR failed to locate the large floating vessel, despite the fact that it had been right in its field of control for more than 3 full 24 hours.
You can see the text of the reply we received here.
Our Guest Lecture at a postgraduate course of National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
On Tuesday 2/5, Homo Digitalis participated with a guestlecture in the course “Migration and asylum governance in South-eastern Europe” of the English-language postgraduate programme “South-East European Studies: politics, history, economics” at the University of Athens. We would like to thank Professor Angeliki Dimitriadi for the kind and honorable invitation to participate in her course!
It was a unique feeling to see the great interest of the students in the activities of Homo Digitalis and our partners in the field of border management and their active participation in the discussion with questions! Awareness-raising activities like these remind us of the importance of developing fruitful partnerships between civil society and academic institutions!
We were represented at the guest lecture by the Secretary of the Board of Directors, Eleftherios Chelioudakis. We would also like to thank our member Asimina Koliniati who brought us in contact with the lecturer!
If you also have suggestions for joint awareness raising activities, you can contact us at “info@homodigitalis.gr”.
Don't miss the event on AI and migration
The agenda for the upcoming #ProtectNotSurveil webinar organized by Access Now, Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), and the Border Violence Monitoring Network is ready!
Don’t forget to register in order to learn more about AI, the proposed legislation at the European level, and its provisions related to the border management sector here.
You will have the pleasure of attending a unique line-up of speakers, including Petra Molnar (Refugee Law Lab) Alyna Smith (PICUM), Anna Colaps (EDPS), Hope Barker (BVMN) and Sarah Chander (European Digital Rights)
Find out more here.
Our educational talk on AI & border management
Last month, we received an invitation from the Greek Council for Refugees and the European Network Against Racism Aisbl (ENAR) to speak at the European Parliament Office in Greece about Homo Digitalis’ actions in the field of migration and border management, as well as about the relevant provisions of the proposed EU regulation on AI!
It was a great pleasure to exchange ideas and views with representatives of CSOs, journalists, academics and other stakeholders who were present as well as to discuss the #ProtectNotSurveil campaign of European Digital Rights, Access Now, Platform for Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and Refugee Law Lab, of which we are members!
We would like to thank the organizers for the great cooperation! Our Board Secretary, Eleftherios Chelioudakis, represented us, presenting our work at the event.
You can learn more about the #ProtectNotSurveil Campaign here.