The Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection (the Commissioner) published, on May 3, 2023, its decision No. 11.17.001.010.045, as issued on January 16, 2023, in which it fined Politis newspaper €7,000 for violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), following a complaint.

Background to the decision

The Commissioner highlighted that a complaint was filed by two police officers against Politis for the illegal disclosure of their names and photos in a publication. Following its investigation the Commissioner decided that the intended purpose could have been achieved by exposing less personal data of the data subjects, such as referring only to the initials of the name and/or the faces of the police officers being blurred, and consequently imposed an administrative fine of €10,000.

An appeal was then filed against the Commissioner's decision which resulted in its annulment by the Administrative Court, without this being decided on the merits. Consequently, the Commissioner decided to conduct a review.

Findings of the Commissioner

Following the Commissioner's review, the Commissioner, taking into account all the facts that came to its attention, concluded that there was a violation of the provisions of Articles 5(1)(c) and 6(1)(f) of the GDPR.

Outcomes

The Commissioner explained that it took into account all the aggravating and mitigating factors and issued an administrative fine of €7,000, for violations of the aforementioned Articles. The Commissioner confirmed that the reduction of the administrative fine and its differentiation in relation to its first decision was a consequence of the differentiation of aggravating and mitigating factors, which were taken into account during the review.

The Commissioner confirmed that its decision has been challenged and is pending before an Administrative Court.

You can read the press release here, and the decision here, all only available in Greek.