OSCE-supported campaign “Keep it personal” raises citizens’ awareness on personal data protection
Three years after the new Law on Personal Data Protection became enforceable in Serbia, citizens continue to struggle to fully understand their rights in the area of personal data protection. In addition, the process of harmonizing the relevant domestic regulations with the Law on Personal Data Protection, adopted in August 2019, is still ongoing.
„Citizens’ rights are most often violated by using their personal data without legal grounds or contrary to the intended purpose. For example, data collected for the conclusion of contracts are being used for sending unsolicited marketing messages“, explains Marko Antić, Head of Supervision Sector at the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection. “Also, lately, we have noticed cases of an unintentional leakage of personal data due to the inadequate data protection by those responsible for their storage”, adds Antić.
In 2020, the OSCE Mission to Serbia supported a public perception survey Citizens’ Perception of Personal Data Protection that showed that 77% of Serbia’s citizens believe that the risk of misuse of personal data is somewhat or very high, while 64% believe that citizens are not aware of their rights to personal data protection. In addition, half of the respondents said that the available information on personal data protection is not clear at all or only to some extent.
“The results of this survey confirmed that Serbian citizens do not have enough knowledge about their right to personal data protection, while they perceive this topic as very important,“ said Miroslav Kragić, National Project Officer at the OSCE Mission to Serbia. “That is why the OSCE Mission to Serbia, in partnership with the Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, decided to support a public campaign aimed at raising citizens’ awareness about their rights in this area”.
Personal data should be treated as a personal property
The public campaign started on 16 May 2022, lasting for two months. Its key messages are presented on several national and local TV outlets and online portals of some prominent dailies and weeklies through thematic videos and animated banners. This is the first-ever campaign in Serbia dedicated to the topic of personal data protection.
The main message of the campaign is that personal data such as name, ID number, e-mail address, number of bank account, health data, etc. should be treated like precious personal property and not be disclosed to others. “Keep it personal” is the motto of the campaign.
At an event marking the launch of the public campaign, the key speakers agreed on the necessity to further work on awareness raising regarding the importance of personal data protection in today’s digital world.
“Safeguarding the right to personal data protection is a challenge. Global technological developments have led to an abundance of personal data available online becoming one of the key resources of modern economies,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Ambassador Jan Braathu. “That is why the OSCE’s 57-participating States, including Serbia, have committed to encourage, facilitate and, where appropriate, support practical co-operation in the field of access to information and the protection of privacy,” he emphasized.
The campaign is also aimed at raising awareness about the responsibilities of public authorities and private companies in collecting and storing personal data. Citizens should be aware that their right to protection of personal data is guaranteed by the 2019 Law that strictly prescribes how their personal data should be processed once collected by authorized institutions.
Another goal of the campaign is to inform citizens about the role of the Serbian Office of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, an independent institution that ensures the implementation of the Law and acts upon citizens’ complaints.
Citizens can reach out to Commissioner when their personal data are misused
“Citizens can turn to the Office of the Commissioner in two cases: before the processing of their data has started - when they need information what their rights to personal data protection are, and secondly when they have knowledge or suspicion that their data are not processed in accordance with the law”, explains Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Milan Marinović.
The Office of the Commissioner points out that before filing a complaint about irregularities, citizens should first contact the public authorities and private companies, which process and store their personal data.
“Citizens have the right to request that the processing of their data is limited, or that their personal data are corrected or deleted“, emphasizes Marko Antić from the Office of the Commissioner.
But, if that gives no results, citizens can file a complaint to the Office of the Commissioner who then acts on their behalf. Among other things, the Office of the Commissioner performs surprise on-site inspections. “If any irregularity is found in the way private companies or public authorities process citizens’ personal data, then corrective measures are taken to eliminate the irregularities”, explains Antić.
To further inform the citizens of Serbia about their rights in the field of personal data protection, Commissioner Marinović announced a tour of Serbia with his team in autumn.
The Mission continues its support for strengthening personal data protection
In line with the OSCE commitments and its mandate, the OSCE Mission to Serbia will continue to support raising citizens’ awareness of personal data protection. “Once the campaign is over, the Mission will conduct another public survey, hoping to observe increased citizens’ awareness of personal data protection”, says Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Jan Braathu.
This on-going public campaign is just a part of the broader activities aimed at strengthening the protection of personal data in Serbia, conducted jointly by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, within the Missions’ multi-year project “Consolidating the Democratization Process in the Security Sector in Serbia” funded by Government of Sweden.
Besides this initative, the Mission is also significantly focused on strengthening personal data protection in the security sector in Serbia. In that respect, after conducting the first analysis of security sector-related legislation from the perspective of personal data protection in 2020, another one is planned for the end of 2022 aimed at covering legislation regulating telecommunication, the judiciary and the prosecution.
“Both these analyses are intended to help authorities in Serbia harmonize security sector-related legislation with the Law on Personal Data Protection. The Mission will also support expert seminars on the topic of ethics of artificial intelligence, which will be organized for the representatives of the Office of the Commissioner and institutions from the security sector”, explains Miroslav Kragić.