Greece’s Data Protection Authority (PDPA) has levied substantial fines on the Ministry of Interior and New Democracy MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou for breaches of data protection laws.
The Ministry faces a 400,000 euros penalty, while Ms. Asimakopoulou has been fined 40,000 euros.
The action follows allegations from Greeks living abroad, who accused Ms. Asimakopoulou, in March, of sending unsolicited emails prior to the European Parliament elections scheduled for June. The case quickly gained the name “email-gate.”
Despite Ms. Asimakopoulou’s denial of any wrongdoing and inconsistent accounts regarding the email addresses’ origins, the PDPA discovered that a list of approximately 25,000 voters was “improperly disclosed.”
The ministry, which is responsible for managing this data, reportedly had no legal basis to share the information outside its domain.
The breach, identified between June 8 and 23, 2023, involved the transfer of the voter email list to Nikos Theodoropoulos, then Secretary for Diaspora Affairs of New Democracy, by an unidentified source. Mr. Theodoropoulos subsequently forwarded the list to Ms. Asimakopoulou on January 20, 2024, who used it for mass campaign communications.
An investigation at the Ministry of Interior revealed significant deficiencies in data protection procedures and policies, investigative flaws, and inaccuracies in record-keeping related to the incident.
The PDPA criticized Ms. Asimakopoulou’s collection and use of personal voter data, including emails, for political purposes, citing it as a violation of the principles of legality, objectivity, and transparency, as well as electoral legislation.
While the PDPA has deferred its decision on Mr. Theodoropoulos and New Democracy pending further investigation, the Ministry of Interior has expressed its intent to thoroughly review the committee’s findings before determining any further legal steps.
In the wake of the data leak’s exposure in March, Michalis Stavrianoudakis, the general secretary of the Interior Ministry, resigned; Mr. Theodoropoulos was removed from his position by New Democracy; and Ms. Asimakopoulou declared her withdrawal from the upcoming European Parliament elections. The case continues to unfold as a separate prosecutorial investigation is underway.