Cyprus’ Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Maria Christofidou, imposed a €6,000 administrative fine on MEP and Direct Democracy president Fidias Panayiotou over the operation of the online platform Agora, deeming the amount “reasonable and proportionate” under the circumstances.
In the decision, published on Tuesday, Panayiotou is identified as the platform’s data controller. The Commissioner found that his failure to fully comply with the Authority’s request to temporarily suspend all Agora functions involving the collection or processing of personal data constituted a breach of Article 31 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires cooperation with the supervisory authority.
According to the decision, this hindered a thorough investigation of the case and, consequently, the Authority’s ability to exercise its supervisory powers under Article 57(1)(a) of the GDPR, which concerns monitoring and enforcing compliance with the regulation.
Agora is the digital platform created by Panayiotou as a tool for citizen participation in Cyprus’ Direct Democracy initiative.
Panayiotou’s compliance was described as “piecemeal” and “incomplete,” despite repeated requests and clarifications from the Authority about the scope of the temporary suspension. The fact that some platform functions continued to collect or process personal data during the investigation was also considered an aggravating factor.
The Commissioner also noted that, in light of subsequent findings, the information and assurances provided did not fully reflect how the platform was actually operating, making the Authority’s assessment more difficult.
In determining the fine, the Commissioner also took into account Panayiotou’s limited cooperation, his failure to fully comply with the Authority’s requests and his public statements that Agora would not be suspended. These were considered to reinforce the finding that there was no substantive willingness to comply and cooperate.
Agora is the digital platform created by MEP Fidias Panayiotou as a tool for citizen participation in Cyprus’ Direct Democracy initiative.
Source: Kathimerini Cyprus
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