New Democracy to appeal to the Council of State over ‘email-gate’ fine
New Democracy plans to appeal to Greece’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, after being fined 40,000 euros by the Personal Data Protection Authority (PDPA) in connection with the “email-gate” scandal, party sources disclosed on Tuesday.
The sources claimed that the fine was not imposed due to direct involvement in the email scandal, but rather stemmed from a parallel investigation that uncovered shortcomings in the party’s compliance with personal data protection laws.
“New Democracy disagrees with the authority’s conclusions,” the sources stated, adding that the party will challenge the decision in court, as the improvements proposed by the authority in managing personal data have already been implemented by the party, while other proposals such as checking on personal devices of its executives would be illegal.
“The investigation found no evidence linking New Democracy to the email data breach,” the sources emphasized, adding that it is clearly mentioned that the leak was carried out independently by those involved, without any party directive or authorization.
The authority’s investigation of the ruling party 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.
The PDPA also fined New Democracy’s then secretary for diaspora affairs, Nikos Theodoropoulos, €10,000 euros for using and leaking the list of about 25,000 voters to Asimakopoulou. This amount was incorporated in the total fine imposed on New Democracy as Theodoropoulos was a party officer.
The privacy watchdog authority has also imposed a €400,000 fine on the Interior Ministry and a €40,000 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.
