Electoral ruling envelope. The Minister of Digitization apologizes for the “illegal processing” of the data
The Warsaw Court ordered the Minister for Digitization to issue an apology to Legal Adviser Mikhail Gnietkowski for the “illegal processing of his personal data by transferring them to the Polish Post Office” in order to “organize” the “envelope elections” in spring 2020. He also ordered the transfer of PLN 70 to the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. The verdict is not final.
Attorney Mikhail Gnyatovsky filed a lawsuit against the state treasury, represented by the Minister of Digitization, for violating his personal rights. It was a matter of transmitting his data to the Polish Post Office for the purposes of the so-called envelope elections. This was the presidential election that was supposed to take place on May 10, 2020, while Poland was reeling from the pandemic COVID-19. In this case, the judges had planned that the voting would take place only by correspondence. In the end, this did not happen, and the vote itself was postponed to June-July.
Earlier, among other things, election packages were printed. Documents obtained by tvn24.pl show that invoices issued by at least four companies to Poczta Polska in connection with preparations for the organization of elections amounted to about PLN 70 million.
The court ordered an apology for the “unlawful processing” of the data
And on Friday, Gniatowski announced on social media that a void judgment had been issued in the case. “The Warsaw District Court confirmed that the processing of my data (as a voter) when trying to conduct the so-called envelope elections in 2020 (in which the famous 70 million PLN went) was illegal,” he wrote on Facebook.
And we read in the copy of the judgment published by him that the court “orders the State Treasury represented by the Minister for Digitization to submit a written statement signed by the Minister for Digitization with the following content:” The Minister for Digitization apologizes to Mr. Michał Gniatkowski as a voter for the illegal processing of his personal data by transferring them to Polish Post SA with its registered office In Warsaw to organize the ‘envelope elections’ in the spring of 2020.”.
This statement must be sent by registered mail to Kancelaria Gniatkowski’s address within seven days of the judgment becoming final.
He is currently the Head of the Ministry of Digitization Janusz Ciesinski.
70 PLN for the Christmas Charity Orchestra. “It’s 0.0001% of the amount Sassen spent on it.”
“I am glad that the court also approved the Minister for Digitization’s request to pay PLN 70 to the Great Charity Christmas Orchestra” – added the legal advisor in the entry. “Why 70 zlotys? Because this is what you asked symbolically – because 70 zlotys is 0.0001% of the amount of our money spent by Sasin and his comrades from the ruling party,” the legal advisor explained.
Gniatkowski also mentioned on the list that “5 years ago we were all going through GDP fever.” “Hairdressers, auto mechanics and fitness clubs were threatened with consequences if they did not enforce the GDPR and allow illegal ‘processing’ of even one person’s personal data… What if someone processed the personal data of 30 million people without a legal basis.. .? (And we have a lot of voters in Poland)…? Clubs to implement GDPR…?” – he asks.
According to his assessment, “In times of threats to privacy and subsequent turmoil around voter rolls – the above issues matter.”
Gniatkowski also posted information about the non-final verdict by the Warsaw court on Twitter.
Main image source: Grand Warszawski/ShutterStock, Twitter/@MGniatkowski
