It is four years since the day the GDPR entered our lives, on 25 May 2018. The GDPR contributes to the implementation of uniform and harmonised data protection rules in the Member States of the European Union, to strengthening citizens' rights and to enhancing cooperation between supervisory authorities. It also provides benefits to businesses, which reduce their administrative costs by applying a common legislation and dealing with a single supervisory authority.
At European level, the European Data Protection Board, which is the institutional collective body of supervisory authorities, has issued several Guidance Notes and Opinions on the uniform application of the GDPR.
My Office, from May 2018 until the end of April 2022, handled 1616 complaints, of which 415 related to spam, 305 notifications of infringements and 74 impact assessments. 425 checks were carried out, 163 Decisions were issued and administrative fines totalling €1,378,100 were imposed. In addition, 143 bills and legislative proposals relating to personal data issues were consulted with my Office and a large number of questions were answered in writing, of which 1,357 were answered promptly.
From these figures it is safe to conclude that citizens are aware of their rights, exercise them and do not hesitate to complain and raise concerns about whether or not something constitutes lawful processing of their personal data.
The institution of the Data Protection Commissioner, which has completed 20 years of operation in our country, has the burden of monitoring the implementation of the GDPR.
The Office will continue to carry out its powers and duties, committed to its primary objective, which is to foster effective respect for privacy in Cypriot society.
(EC/EHRP)
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