On the occasion of the International Personal Data Protection Day, the Center for Civic Education (CEO) assessed that the minimum standards for the protection of personal data in Montenegro are still unattainable.
They state that citizens still predominantly do not recognize the importance of personal data protection, but also that the level of responsibility of those who handle personal data has not significantly improved.
"Montenegro once again celebrates this day in an environment characterized by insufficiently strengthened capacities of the authorities whose obligation is to take care of the effective implementation of the law regulating the field of data protection. The Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information (AZLP) is not proactive enough in the area of securing enforcement and compliance with the law, but not in informing the state and business authorities, as the most common handlers of personal data, about what their obligations are, nor citizens about what their rights are and how to protect them," said the program assistant in CGO Nikola Obradović.
The proactive role of the AZLP, he adds, was absent both before and after last year's presidential and parliamentary elections, which "have traditionally been accompanied by a wide range of abuse of voters' personal data."
"After the public was informed about numerous examples of violations of the law by the presidential candidates, and during the collection of signatures of support, the CGO initiated surveillance of the candidacy applicants of all seven presidential candidates. Unfortunately, these surveillances did not serve AZLP as an opportunity to identify essential problems , but the focus was directed exclusively at the fulfillment of formal and legal assumptions. This is also confirmed by the fact that AZLP did not see a problem in the fact that one of the presidential candidates kept copies of the list with the signatures of voters, even though it was properly registered in the minutes. Also, neither "after almost a year since these elections, the surveillance of one of the most controversial presidential candidates, Jovan Radulović, better known as Jodžir, has not been carried out," states Obradović.
He also points out that the public does not have an answer as to how political parties get the phone numbers of voters, as well as whether there was misuse of personal data in that case, while there are no reactions from state authorities in this matter.
"CGO warns of potential misuse of personal data during future election cycles in Montenegro, and given the frequent occurrence of such incidents during previous elections that went unpunished. Therefore, we call on decision-makers to recognize the importance of the problem and take concrete steps to ensure respect for privacy "The CGO emphasizes the need to strengthen the legal mechanisms and capacities of personal data handlers, as well as more frequent supervision, in order to adequately sanction misuse of personal data and ensure appropriate legal consequences in cases of their misuse," Obradović said.
The General Regulation on the Protection of Personal Data (GDPR), he recalls, offers certain solutions whose integration into the legal framework would contribute to the establishment of better mechanisms. As Obradović said, he is concerned that Montenegro is not ready for its implementation, especially if one takes into account the current challenges in the consistent implementation of existing regulations.
"CGO once again appeals to all relevant actors to work together to create a safe environment for citizens and their personal data, and to sanction all incidents in a timely and efficient manner," the announcement concludes.
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