Personal data is constantly being misused, no one is being sanctioned

In February of this year, Kosovo police published a sensationalised video of communications behavior in which they had shot moments when citizens were punished for the violations they committed in traffic.

In the video, in addition to watching car license numbers, the birthplace and identification numbers are seen.

Police violated the law by publishing the driver's personal data.

It has been more than three years since the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data has declared no convictions for private or public institutions that have violated privacy or misused the personal data of citizens.

The problems facing the Agency and political procrastination, according to officials from this institution, have paved the way for misuse of personal data of citizens for commercial purposes, says Jeton Arifi, director of the Department for International Relations at the State Agency for Protection of Personal Data (ASHMDP).

The last “Agency has failed to hold inspections and fines directly now with the new law. Thus, these violators have encouraged them to continue the old avaz by making deliberate violations, ignoring the Law provisions for personal data protection because they have not been punished except for some cases the Agency had initiated through the Founding Court of Civil Court, and in the meantime some of them have ended up at the Court or some economic operators have been fined. In recent years, however, there has been an impasse in this process”, Arifi said.

In the Personal Data Protection Agency, they accept the fact that especially the private sector is currently developing harsh marketing using the personal data of citizens illegally.

Until they are being punished, they are exploiting the opportunity to make direct, aggressive marketing which constitutes violations because it is done without the consent of the subjects, the parties. This is only a specific segment because there are violations of different natures, so we're getting stuck due to procrastinated political processes”, Arifi said in a conversation for Radio Free Europe.

Public institutions are also frequent violators of citizens' personal data.

In the event of misuse of their personal data, citizens have no address where to complain, says Kusari, lawyer and Media Law.

“Agency has failed to protect our personal data, although it has long existed. One of the main reasons why our data has not been properly protected is because in key positions in the agency there have been people who have taken those positions because of party support and not because of their merit or professionalism”, Kusari said.

Kusari says the Agency, neither in the past nor now, has shown will nor professionalism in the process of protecting citizens' personal data.

“Agency has long not been functional because political parties have initially delayed the Law's vote on the Protection of Personal Data, and are now stalling the Commission's vote on Information and Privateness. As a result of blocking the agency's work, Kosovo citizens do not have an address where they might complain of personal data violations. For example, if I accept an SMS on the phone from a company I haven't authorized to send ads through SMS, she, with automation, is a violation of personal data but the disaster is that I don't have any address to where she can file complaints against that company”, Kusari said.

The biggest violators of citizens' privacy, according to connoisseurs, are banks, different chain stores, markets, private hospitals, as well as various telecom services operators.

The normal function of the State Agency for the Protection of Personal Data has also become impossible because of legal changes, but also as a result of the Komiser's procrastination for Information and Privateity.

It is not yet known whether the Kosovo Assembly will manage to vote for the Commissioner for Information and Privateness before the distribution of the Assembly, which is expected to happen on August 22nd.

The Kosovo Parliament's Security Commission had recommended candidates Crenare Sogojeva Dremaku, Agron Behrami and Enver Bujar for the Commissioner for Information and Privateness.

Experts engaged by the British Embassy in Pristina who are involved in the process, following the candidate assessment have recommended that Commissioner for Information and Private be selected from Crenare Sogojevo-Dermaku, writes Radio Free Europe.