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Cyprus: Commissioner publishes statement on public authorities' task automation and alternatives

The Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection ('the Commissioner') published, on 16 June 2022, a statement on the observation that public authorities automate different tasks which require citizens to submit their requests or receive information on their requests' progress in electronic form only. Specifically, while the Commissioner acknowledged the benefits of task automation, she highlighted that this may create problems for people who do not have the digital skills to meet the new requirements; for example, where a citizen provides, upon requirement, the email address of another person in their absence to access a public service, which may result in the unwanted disclosure of personal data to this third party.

To this end, the Commissioner stressed that forcing citizens to disclose their personal data to third parties, in order to receive certain services, is a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ('GDPR'), and called authorities to provide alternative ways for the provision of services.

You can read the statement, only available in Greek, here.

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