Covid 19 exposed the hypocrisy of the GDPR

Covid 19 managed to reveal the hypocrisy but also the effectiveness of the tools that governments and companies have to control our every move. Various forms of surveillance have been violating our privacy for decades, despite the adoption of "strong privacy laws" in Europe.

In 2018 we acquired the GDPR as an additional protection to our online privacy. Two years later it turns out that laws exist only to distract us, and that our personal privacy simply no longer exists.

Everything started to get a little clearer with the data protection regulations, which were first introduced in Europe in 2006 for "our good." Governments have exploited the need for counter-terrorism protection, and dealt a fatal blow to privacy.

Οι κανονισμοί μαζικής επιτήρησης της επικοινωνίας που έβρισκες διάσπαρτους σε ολόκληρη την ΕΕ το 2000 υπήρξαν περισσότερο σε ορισμένες μετα-σοβιετικές χώρες. Οι κανονισμοί όμως αυτοί βρέθηκαν αντισυνταγματικοί, αλλά υπήρχαν καθώς οι αναμνήσεις του τείχους του υ ήταν ακόμα ζωντανές.

The EU Data Protection Directive 2006, however, opened the door to various types of surveillance, financial monitoring, censorship and privacy restrictions for more protection for a "greater good".

In 2014, the EU Data Conservation Directive has been convicted by its Court of the Union, the highest judicial body in Europe, because it was essentially a huge "mass surveillance".

The repeal of the EU directive did not invalidate national legislation implementing the same regulations with minimal variation at country level, although the Supreme Court described these laws as a "mass surveillance tool." These laws are still enforced by the majority of EU countries years after this Supreme Court ruling.

Similarly, mass fingerprinting and population biometrics were normalized through an “innocent directive” for new passes. s (Regulation EU 2252/2004 PDF).

Let's not forget the video recordings from them or financial monitoring in real time, which are also necessary for "our good" as they help to police traffic violations, and to fight any money laundering. Even before the Covid 19 pandemic, it was only a matter of time, because governments want to track our every move.

True, how successful has been the massive surveillance we have had since the beginning of the century in the EU on terrorist attacks, or unauthorized entry into the EU or the fight against money laundering.

Then came the GDPR to save us.

Many believed that "data protection", which is an advanced form of privacy, was now in good hands.
Some have already begun to recognize that the GDPR exists not only for the benefit of industry and multinationals, but also as a stepping stone to small businesses.

Given the above, if one is surprised to see governments around the world suddenly discovering all the means to monitor and investigate Covid 19 cases, one probably did not pay attention when needed.

Apart from surveillance drones, no new (visible) surveillance devices were invented. All of the above will be used to monitor Covid 19: Location monitoring, biometric data processing and any telephone device have become important assistants to any government. All this is known and now very easily accepted even in countries with a long democratic history.

In most countries, only minor amendments to the laws to introduce Covid 19 surveillance are sufficient. It is our new normal, since privacy is no longer a problem or even a "nuisance" for most.

Covid 19

In Europe this all happens with the consent of EU bureaucrats to protect our privacy. The EU's top privacy regulator – the European Data Protection Board in a statement posted on March 19 , he mentioned that "A state of emergency can legitimize restrictions on freedoms provided that the restrictions are proportionate and limited to the period of emergency."

Can it legitimize? In what kind of emergency, who can establish anything and for how long? Surely Mr Orban in Hungary is very pleased to have acquired this power, legally.

The scope of data collection due to Covid 19 is awe-inspiring, but rest assured - everything is done only for public health and successful quarantine.

With the regulation of Digital Services and the Revision of the Directive on the security of networks and information systems (NIS Directive) already on the European Commission's Q4 2020 agenda, it would not be surprising to see further efforts to (re) regulate encryption or eliminate any anonymous use of communications or payment tools.

We should not worry, since we have nothing to hide, right?

Even before the Covid 19 state of emergency, blatant privacy breaches did not require any extreme investigation.

The GDPR distributed some fines (disproportionate to the profits of large companies) and even left it of the appeal, so that the full amount is not paid. Individual rights to protect oneself from privacy breaches were left to the GDPR, while government powers to police breaches were expanded.

The Covid 19 pandemic clearly shows the limits of this approach, as there no longer seem to be any obstacles to the complete collapse of privacy. The fear of the public is the best ally, like the fear of a possible terrorist attack, which may never happen.

The current situation can lead us to results we do not want to know. However, many continue to support this approach while still supporting the GDPR as the future of our privacy.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

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