Email Gate: Data Protection Authority Fines Greek State, MEP

Greece’s independent Data Protection Authority imposed a 40,000-euro fine against MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou following numerous complaints of illegal leaks of personal data for vote canvassing and a fine of 400,000 euros against the Greek state for failing to protect citizens’ private information, a furor dubbed “email gate”.

The MEP is facing 75 lawsuits by citizens and the Interior Ministry more than 200 lawsuits since the “email gate” scandal broke.

The Data Protection Authority deemed the MEP had violated Articles 5, 6, and 14 of the GDPR and has been ordered to delete the relevant data.

After an investigation, the data protection watchdog found that the collection of personal data from expatriate voters, including electronic communication details, and their use for sending political communication messages violated the fundamental principles of legality, objectivity, and transparency of processing. This was deemed a breach of various provisions of election law and was not reasonably foreseeable for the data subjects (overseas voters).

The Ministry has been instructed to take actions to ensure compliance with the GDPR within a specified timeframe.

The Data Protection Authority has deferred its decision regarding conservative New Democracy party and former Secretary of Hellenic Diaspora Affairs Nikos Theodoropoulos, following Theodoropoulos’s sworn statement during his hearing presenting written evidence detailing how he obtained the electoral rolls, providing new critical information that necessitates further investigation of his claims.

According to sources, Theodoropoulos pointed to an unnamed party official as the individual responsible for the email leak from the Ministry of Interior, contradicting the initial narrative from the Maximos Mansion that a collaborator of the then General Secretary of the Ministry of Interior was the source.

Approximately 230 expatriates have filed lawsuits against the Greek State for illegally processing their personal data, seeking compensation for the moral damage they suffered.

According to MEGA TV, the total amount claimed amounts to six million euros.