Restrictions to the rights of data subjects in Greece
Scientific/historical research, statistics
(Corresponding to §27 (2) BDSG)
Art. 30 of Law 4624/2019 regulates data processing for scientific or historical research and statistical purposes. Accordingly, the rights of the data subject under Art. 15 (access), 16 (rectification), 18 (restriction of processing) and 21 (objection) of the GDPR are limited to the extent that such rights may render impossible or seriously prejudice the achievement of the research or statistical purposes, and such limitations are necessary for the fulfillment of the research or statistical purposes. The right of access under Article 15 GDPR does not apply if data are necessary for scientific purposes and providing information would involve a disproportionate effort.
Archiving in the public interest
(Corresponding to §28 BDSG)
Pursuant to Art. 29 (2) of Law 4624/2019, the data subject’s right of access (Art. 15 GDPR) does not apply if the archival material is not marked with the name of the person or no information is provided that would allow the archival material to be found with reasonable administrative effort. Furthermore, the right to rectification pursuant to Art. 16 GDPR does not apply if personal data are processed for archiving purposes in public interest. However, if the data subject disputes the accuracy of the personal data, the data subject has the opportunity to submit his or her version. The right to restrict processing and the right to data portability do not apply to the extent that these rights would be likely to render impossible or seriously prejudice the achievement of archiving purposes in public interest.
Freedom of expression and information
Article 28 of the Greek Data Protection Act establishes yet another exception to accommodate the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes and for purposes of scientific, artistic or literary expression.
Right to erasure
(Corresponding to §35 BDSG)
If, in the case of non-automated data processing, the erasure of personal data is not possible or possible only with disproportionate effort, the data subject shall only have the right to restriction of processing instead of the right to erasure (Art. 34 of the Law 4624/2019).
Rights under Law 3471/2006
Law 3471/2006 regulates the protection of personal data in the electronic communications sector in Greece.
This law contains obligations in relation to the providers of public electronic communications services, from which rights of the users of these services derive.
Among the rights of data subjects arising from this law are:
– The right to block automatically forwarded calls from services to one’s terminal;
– The right not to be included in a printed or electronic public directory;
– The right not to receive unsolicited commercial communications.
