- GIODO to check nasza-klasa.pl social networking website
- The Act of 29 August 1997 on the Protection of Personal Data (unified text: Journal of Laws of 2002 No. 101 item 926 with amendments)
- nasza-klasa.pl social networking website - inspection results presented at the press conference
- Privacy Policy http:// www.giodo.gov.pl
- Amendment to the act
- Spring Conference of European Data Protection Authorities
Eurodac: how to ensure the rights of asylum seekers to be observed in practice?
The Inspector General for Personal Data Protection sent the Second Eurodac Inspection Report to various public administration authorities and NGOs with a request for comments and remarks.
The Inspector General for Personal Data Protection requested numerous public sector entities and NGOs to report comments and remarks on the second coordinated inspection of a large-scale database that contains fingerprints of asylum seekers in order to assist asylum procedures in the European Union. The report was adopted by the Eurodac Supervision Coordination Group, composed of the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection and representatives of other participating data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor. The Coordination Group has investigated how the database has been used in practice over the last two years. Two main issues were scrutinised: the right of information of asylum seekers and the methods for assessing the age of young asylum seekers in view of their registration in the system.
The report presents both the findings and the recommendations based on the replies to the questionnaire received from all the Member States. The Group hopes that the report will usefully contribute to the ongoing revision of the Eurodac and Dublin Regulations.
Informing the data subjects
The inspection results show that information disclosed to asylum seekers on their rights and the use of their data is often incomplete, especially in relation to the consequence of fingerprinting and the right of access to and rectification of data. The information provided to the data subjects differ very much among the countries and it is evident that there the practices differ for asylum seekers and illegal aliens; in general illegal aliens receive undoubtedly less information, and in some cases, do not receive information at all.
The coordination group recommends the following:
- Member States should improve the quality of the information on data protection for asylum seekers, which should contain the rights of access to and rectification of data, as well as the procedure to exercise these rights. Member States should ensure that the information is provided on equal footing both to asylum seekers and illegal aliens, and encourage relevant authorities to harmonise the practices in this regard.
- Asylum authorities should reconsider the way in which they provide information on data protection so as to ensure that it is clear enough and is well understood by data subjects, in particular by evaluation of efficiency of the information provided;
- The DPAs should follow-up the situation at national level and provide guidance on how better comply with the information obligation.
Assesment of the age of young asylum seekers
According to the Eurodac Regulation, children from 14 years on should be fingerprinted. There is often a problem determining the age of a child who carries no reliable identity document and various methods are used to assess their age, including various medical examinations.
The Group recommends the following:
- Member States should ensure that the methods for assessing the age of asylum seekers as well as the whole procedure surrounding the tests are established in a clear text accessible by the public;
- Asylum authorities have to take account of the margin of error resulting from the use of some medical examinations when taking decisions affecting the legal status of the asylum seeker;
- The Commission should undertake an overall assessment of the reliability of the various methods used in the Member States for age assessment, with a view to ensure more harmonisation in this regard. Medical and ethical aspects should be taken into account in the assessment. Medical examinations considered invasive, if needed at all, should be limited to the determination of whether a child asylum seeker is under 18 or not.
- The Eurodac Regulation, currently under revision, should be modified to impose fingerprinting asylum seekers only from 18 year old on.