Bulgaria fails to protect citizen's personal data

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar)

A recent report made public by the Bulgarian National Audit Office about the
activity of the Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) in Bulgaria
in the period 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2005 shows that CPDP has failed
in achieving its main purpose – to protect the citizen’s personal data.

Parts of the National Audit Office report have been translated by Bulgarian
NGO Access to Information Programme and published on Statewatch. According
to the report, the CDPD has spent approx. 1.35 million Euro for its
activities, but has completed only 17 investigations at citizens’
complaints. The Commission has failed in creating the mandatory registry of
personal data processors and hasn’t imposed any sanction so far.

Moreover, there is no policy in place, strategy or established goals for the
personal data protection field. The National Audit Office has considered
that CPDP did not function as a permanent working body since the main part
of its staff has predominantly maintained working relations with other
employers.

The report noted that no legal provisions regulates the registration
procedure, and the CPDP had not adopted written rules, procedures and
methodology for exercising control over the activities of the
administrators. The objects of control, the types of control activities and
their scope are not explicitly defined, the powers of the controllers are
defined vaguely and incompletely.

The flaws of the present data protection legislation and its implementation
have been highlighted by Access to Information Programme. The insufficient
protection of personal data in Bulgaria was criticized in the European
Commission monitoring reports in the pre-accession process, as well.

Bulgaria: The Commission for Personal Data Protection in Bulgaria has done
little for the protection of personal data – 1.35 million. Euro were spent
instead (01.02.2007)
http://www.statewatch.org/news/2007/feb/01bulgaria-dp.htm

Audit Report of the CDPD (only in Bulgarian, 30.01.2007)
http://www.bulnao.government.bg/pages.html?catID=18

Access to Information Programme – Bulgaria
http://www.aip-bg.org