The protection of privacy on the internet, the modern risks, and the new opportunities for citizens and society were examined at the Symposium - Public Discussion "Hacking Democracy: Privacy and Data in the era of Facebook" held on November 26th at ERT-Studio Epsilon Radio Building.
The conference was co-organized by the European Communication Institute (ECI) with the Office of the European Parliament in Greece, Hellenic Radio and Television and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency,
Specialists, experts and executives, on the occasion of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, analysed the process of "leakage" of personal data, the importance of the "new gold" as personal digital information has been called, and focused on the social, economic, personal and ethical implications of abusive practices.
At the opening of the conference, the Secretary General of Digital Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Professor Demosthenes Anagnostopoulos, the Head of ECI Marios Nottas and the Strategic Communication Consultant Ellia Kallia, addressed the audience.
The Secretary General for Digital Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Professor Demosthenes Anagnostopoulos, referred to the process of simplifying the digital processes of everyday life for Greek citizens, which will be done without the collection of large volumes of data (big data) but with the digital transmission of the information required each time, in order to protect in the best possible way the sensitive data of citizens. He referred to the development of a "personal data security filter" and the implementation of "data protection measures during the implementation of Gov.gr"
The head of ECI, Marios Nottas, integrated the Symposium, along with other previous actions of ECI, on fake news, data journalism, drone journalism, misinformation, and the murder of Polk, into the initiative of the European Communication Institute for Citizen Literacy Initiative. The initiative is served not only by the Institute's postgraduate programs but also by a series of events open to the public, always in collaboration with the four co-organizing entities.
The Strategic Communication Advisor, Elia Kallia, highlighted the imbalance between strategic ethics and technological innovation in managing citizens' data, in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. She emphasized the importance of ethics and integrity as the top values that communication professionals should uphold.
The dimensions of the Cambridge Analytica case were presented by the journalist and member of the ECI training team, Tasos Economou.
The Workshop evolved into two rounds of discussion.
The risks arising for citizens, as well as for social and political functions, from the collection of personal data by social media and other online platforms were analyzed. Institutional mechanisms to prevent exploitation of big data, as well as new digital "weapons" and individual daily practices for protecting personal data, were examined.
The first round was attended by the Secretary General of Digital Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Professor Demosthenes Anagnostopoulos, the strategic communication consultant Stratos Safioleas, the journalist and digital communication consultant Matthaios Tsimitakis and the cyber security expert Theofanis Kassimis. Coordinated by APPE-MPA journalist Yannis Georgiou.
The second panel included the Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Athens and journalist Marina Rigou, Professor in the Department of Digital Systems at the University of Piraeus Christos Xenakis, Head of the Operational Security Unit at the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security Dr. Demosthenes Oikonomou, Lawyer and Legal Advisor of EKPOIZO-GDPR Partheni Tzega, and Cybersecurity Architect at Microsoft George Balafoutis. The panel was moderated by the Data Protection Officer of ERT, Vasilis Vasilopoulos.
The presentation of the conclusions, titled "Next Day for Journalism, Society, Democracy," was given by Dimitris Alexopoulos, journalist at ERT and head of the special team dedicated to Fact Checking that has been established by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation.
The journalist Petros Bottsarakos was the central coordinator of the workshop.
The workshop was part of the ad hoc ongoing educational partnership of the European Communication Institute with the Office of the European Parliament in Greece, Hellenic Radio and Television and the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
The event was broadcast live and will soon be posted on ERT's online platform for on-demand use. As always, participants will receive a link where they will find useful follow-up material in relation to what was discussed at the Workshop, which had the character of a Public Debate.
The European Communication Institute - ECI is a synergy of the public European institutions Research Centre "Athena", Austrian University Donau Universitat Krems - DUK, the Laboratory of Communication and Media Technology of NTUA and the Foundation for the Promotion of Journalism A.V. Botsi.
Here you can find photographic material from the Workshop.
Here you can find a recording of the Workshop.