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New concerns arise after MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou's office was implicated in the widespread distribution of unsolicited emails to Greek expatriates, a move seemingly aimed at drumming up support for the forthcoming European Parliament election. Thirty Greek expatriates from countries including Holland, Britain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, France, Denmark, Spain, the USA, and Australia have initiated legal action against both the Ministry of the Interior and Asimakopoulou. The controversy centres on the leak of the email list, traced back to Michalis Stavrianoudakis, the General Secretary of the Interior Ministry, who reportedly passed the list to Nikos Theodoropoulos, Secretary for Diaspora Affairs from the ruling New Democracy party. Both have resigned following the scandal's exposure, and Asimakopoulou has been taken off the candidate list for the election in June.
Vassilis Sotiropoulos, representing expatriates affected by the widespread dissemination of personal data linked to ND MEP Anna Michele Asimakopoulou, has appealed to the European Data Protection Supervisor. He urges the EDPS to investigate whether the tax identification numbers and social security numbers of these expatriates were also compromised.
Here is the appeal to the European Data Protection Supervisor:
“Ladies and gentlemen,
As the legal representative for individuals affected by a significant data breach, I bring forth a concern for your consideration, potentially influencing the forthcoming verdict from the European Data Protection Supervisor.
The suspicions of expatriates extend beyond merely the exposure of their email addresses; there’s reasonable fear that their tax identification numbers (TINs) and social security numbers (AMKA) might also have been compromised in the breach.
Given the pivotal role of a TIN as a key identifier accessing multiple services, the potential misuse of these numbers, alongside other personal details, has sparked significant alarm among the expatriate community.
If your investigation reveals that such sensitive identifiers were indeed circulated without authorization, it is within your responsibility to recommend corrective actions. These may include urging the Ministry of the Interior and other governmental entities to facilitate the legal amendment allowing the change of TIN and AMKA numbers—an option currently restricted by law but deemed necessary for mitigating the impact of this breach and safeguarding the affected individuals’ data privacy.”
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