We requested from the Hellenic DPA and the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy to issue an Opinion on the Draft Presidential Decree for the procurement of spyware by Greek authorities
Today, 30.7.2024, Homo Digitalis filed a request before the President of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA), Mr.Menoudakos (no.6277/30-07-2024), and the President of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE), Mr. Rammou (no. 2755/30-07-2024), in order for the two Independent Authorities to exercise their advisory powers and issue a joint Opinion regarding the Draft Presidential Decree of Articles 13 & 47 of Law 5002 /2022 on the procurement of contracts on behalf of governmental structures for the supply of spyware or surveillance devices.
The lack of transparency and openness regarding the whole process of drafting the text of the draft Presidential Decree, as well as the absence of an informed dialogue with the independent authorities of the country and with the advisory bodies of the state , combined with its late preparation, which contradicts the explicit provision of the legislator in Articles 13 and 47 of Law 5002 /2022, create additional concerns in the public sphere, as well as in certain professional circles, such as politicians, journalists, and lawyers, whose preservation of the confidentiality of communications is vital for democracy.
Homo Digitalis considers that, in the absence of immediate intervention by the two supervisory authorities, there is a serious risk that the provisions of the Draft Presidential Decree may not meet the requirements set out in Union law and the case law of the CJEU, may contravene the values enshrined in Article 2 TEU and the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Charter and, in particular Articles 7, 8, 11, 11, 17, 21 and 47 thereof, fail to comply with the requirements laid down in Council of Europe law, in particular the values enshrined in the ECHR and Convention 108 and the case-law of the ECtHR, and infringe Articles 9A, 14 and 19 of the Greek Constitution.
Furthermore, Homo Digitalis considers that there is a serious possibility that the provisions of the said Draft Presidential Decree will create a lower level of protection in Greece than in other EU Member States, thus hindering the exchange of data and information between Greece and other Member States and leading to the impossibility of fighting serious crime and terrorism at a cross-border level whenever the use of spyware by the Greek authorities has taken place.
You can read our request in detail here.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not respond to Homo Digitalis on PREDATOR
On 11 October 2022, Homo Digitalis submitted a request to the Directorate for Multilateral Economic Relations and Trade Policy of the General Secretariat for International Economic Relations and Externalisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We sought information on the approval/rejection of dual-use technology export license requests, as well as the country of destination of the end user. It was a strategic action in order to find out with statistical data whether technologies such as PREDATOR had been given the green light for export by the Greek authorities.
We received no response to our request, despite the fact that European legislation, and in particular Article 23 of Regulation 2021/821, provides for the keeping of relevant statistical data by the competent authorities of the Member States.
On 30 November 2022, a months-long investigation, the result of Inside Story.’s collaboration with the investigative journalism organisation Lighthouse Reports and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz brings to light that an aircraft linked to the Israeli PREDATOR tycoon delivered surveillance technology to notorious paramilitaries in Sudan in May 2022.
Yesterday, the deputy foreign minister said in a radio interview with Real FM that “”The export license given to Predator and Sudan has nothing to do with the civil war. The civil war was not caused by it.”
The session we co-organized at the Privacy Camp for PREDATOR was successfully completed
Homo Digitalis had the pleasure of participating in the privacy camp organized by European Digital Rights in Brussels a few days ago.
Among the topics discussed were the preservation of electronic communications metadata, spyware, immigration and the use of new technologies and sex workers rights.
Of particular interest was the Workshop In spyware we trust. With new tools come new problems with speakers European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski, @EU_EDPS Rebecca White Campaigner – Disrupting Surveillance Team at Amnesty Tech, Bastien Le Querrec, member of La Quadrature Du Net, and Elisa Triantafillou, journalist of inside story, who presented how she and her team uncovered the use of predator software in Greece.
Our organisation was represented by Eleftherios Chelioudakis and Elpida Vamvaka.
Many congratulations to EDRi for organizing such timely and interesting discussions.
Register for the session we are co-organizing at the Privacy Camp for the use of PREDATOR in Greece
Did you register?
On 25 January, Privacy Camp takes place in Brussels, one of the most important annual meetings in the field of digital rights organised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), European Digital Rights – EDRi, VUB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Privacy Salon and iee.
Together with EDRi we are co-organising a summit on the use of spyware, in which we are honoured to have as our guest the journalist Elise Triantafyllou from inside.story who was the leading reporter in the revelations about the use of Predator in Greece.
Register completely free of charge for attendance in person or online until 18/1 here.
Homo Digitalis speaks to the PEGA Committee of the European Parliament during her visit to Greece
The European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry into the investigation into the use of spyware in the EU is in Greece this week!
Homo Digitalis has been invited to appear before it to give evidence on the significant challenges to the rule of law, democracy and human rights. We will be represented at this meeting by the Vice President of the Board, Stefanos Vitoratos.
The Commission of Inquiry will also meet representatives of journalists from InsideStory and Reporters United, who highlighted #Pretarorgate with their investigation, as well as representatives of civil society and political parties, among others.