Greece’s ruling party fined over ‘email-gate’
Greece’s Personal Data Protection Authority (PDPA) on Tuesday imposed a 40,000-euro fine on the ruling New Democracy (ND) party for not taking adequate measures to protect the personal data of hundreds of Greeks living abroad following an investigation into the “email-gate” scandal.
The authority’s investigation of ND opened after Greeks living abroad accused former New Democracy MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou in March this year of sending unsolicited emails ahead of the European Parliament elections in June.
PDPA also ordered two former New Democracy officials, the then Secretary for Diaspora Affairs, Nikos Theodoropoulos, and the Organizing Secretary of Local Government and Crisis Management, Menios Koromilas, to pay 10,000 euros each for using and leaking the list of about 25,000 voters to Asimakopoulou, and giving the list the list to Theodoropoulos, respectively.
The Authority exonerated the former general secretary of the Interior Ministry, Michalis Stavrianoudakis, judging that the leak from the ministry was made by a person who could not be identified. Stavrianoudakis resigned from his post after the leak was made public.
PDPA has also imposed a 400,000-euro fine on the Ministry of Interior and a 40,000-euro fine on Asimakopoulou for their respective roles in violating data protection regulations. The former MEP has appealed the fine saying it is excessive.
The case is under criminal investigation for potential violations of personal data laws.
