Photo: Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation
NOYB, the Vienna-based NGO that campaigns for digital rights, announced today it will be backing the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and Repubblika, in their efforts to secure justice for the victims of the CT-Planet data leak of political preferences and personal details of voters.
The leak showed the voting preferences, addresses, phones and dates of birth of all persons eligible to vote in the 2013 election. Noyb will be filing complaints about the data breach in various EU Member States.
The organisation co-founded by lawyer and activist Max Schrems recalled today that “after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, everyone understands the fundamental role of data protection in a democracy, especially when the data at stake include political opinions. As a principle, the General Data Protection Regulation prohibits the processing of data revealing political opinions. What is even more worrying is the total lack of protection of these data which were publicly accessible by everyone.”
In a comment on the organisation’s website, Romain Robert, data protection lawyer at Noyb said that “in a democracy, we cannot accept the processing of political data spiralling out of control. Political parties in particular should not be using voters’ information for purposes other than what the law permits them to do. Could you imagine your political preferences being used to deny you access to a public service or an employment opportunity?”
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and Repubblika have teamed up and organised a platform that allows citizens affected by this data breach to sue C-Planet IT Solutions Limited and any other entity involved. An investigation has been launched by the Maltese DPA, but the class action targets civil damages, including moral damages.
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation set up a tool that allows everyone to check what information was collected on them.
Anyone wanting to join the collective action should visit the FAQ.
Victims of the CT-Planet data leak who want to join a complaint filed by noyb outside Malta, should contact Noyb on [email protected].