The Center for Civic Education (CCE) said that it is necessary to ensure an institutional response that will enable better protection of personal data.
On the occasion of January 28th - International Data Protection Day, CCE pointed out the importance of personal data protection, but also "the obligation of natural and legal persons to approach the processing of this data lawfully and with due care".
"Although Montenegro has a legal framework that to some extent follows European standards, it is necessary to work on its significant improvement and ensure an institutional response that will enable better protection of personal data," the statement reads.
They say that special responsibility lies with the Agency for Personal Data Protection and Free Access to Information (AZLP), which "insufficiently communicates the obligations of data controllers", as well as ways in which citizens can protect their data.
"In its 2024 Report, the European Commission pointed to the reduced number of inspections, but also to the human, IT and financial undercapacity of the AZLP," the NGO adds.
CCE called on the Parliament, in the repeated public call for the appointment of a member of the AZLP Council, to "be guided by the professional references of the candidates, not by political interests", but also to work on ensuring technical conditions for improving the work of that agency.
They also called on the Government to urgently initiate, and MPs to ratify, the 2018 Council of Europe Protocol, which would strengthen the standard of personal data protection through harmonisation with European practice.
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