06 Feb 2024
Privacy Minders, a part of Raphael Legal group, filed a Complaint before the Cyprus Commissioner of Data Protection in 5th of October 2022, on behalf of two members of an Advisory Committee - and the children of one of them- as representatives of the Panagricultural Association, regarding an Article that has been published by the Newspaper “Politis” titled “The consultants and employees of the Turkish Cypriot Property Service with Turkish Cypriot properties – Here is the list of 27 names” and on its web format bore the title “These 27 will be investigated for possession of Turkish Cypriot properties – Read the names in detail."
The publications in question, published and posted on 14 September 2022, disclose the personal data of the complainants, in particular, in relation to their property status, as their names were included in a nominal list of holders of Turkish Cypriot property.
The complainants had confidentially handed over their solemn declarations to the Turkish Cypriot Services Management Service of the Ministry of Interior with details of the Turkish Cypriot property they held. The statement forms noted that the data would be utilized confidentially and had been requested by the House of Representatives.
In this publication, questions were addressed concerning the conditions under which the Turkish Cypriot properties came into possession and at what rent, whether they are beneficiaries, according to what criteria the selection of Turkish Cypriot properties was made and who examined the applications, but also whether the persons mentioned in the publication were involved in the examination of their applications, implying that the procedure was not appropriately followed.
It was our stance that, in cases where journalists publish personal data, such as this one, a fair balance has to be struck between the publisher’s right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by Article 10, and the right to protection of one’s private life under Article 8. The Court of Justice of the European Union's jurisprudence has repeatedly emphasized that exceptions and deviations from the right to personal data protection can be made for journalistic purposes, as long as the right to personal data protection is balanced with the right to freedom of expression and information (case C-73/07, 16 December 2008).
In Hajovsky v. Slovakia case, the European Court of Human Rights noted that the notion of “private life” within the meaning of Article 8 of the Convention is a broad concept which extends to a number of aspects relating to personal identity, such as a person’s name or image, and furthermore includes a person’s physical and psychological integrity.
The Commissioner, after investigating the Complaint issued a Decision finding that the above information constitutes personal data of complainants within the meaning of Article 4(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation, identifying natural persons and revealing aspects of their private sphere, The Commissioner found "Arktinos Publications Ltd" in violation of Article 5(1)(c) of the General Data Protection Regulation, specifically the Principle of Proportionality and Data Minimization.
Among other things, the Commissioner stressed that the timeliness in relation to the management of the Turkish Cypriot services and the professional status of the complainants as members of advisory committees responsible for the management and distribution of these properties did not necessarily justify mentioning them by name.
In the Commissioner's view, the respondents did not strike a fair balance between the two rights, namely the right of expression and the press, with that of the protection of the complainants' privacy and personal data.
The Commissioner levied an administrative fine of €5,000 on "Arktinos Publications Ltd" and issued an order mandating the removal of personal data from the online publication of "Politis" Newspaper, dated September 14, 2022.
Written by Anastasia Georgiou