Commissioner (Cyprus) - Online Platform “Agora”
Cyprus DPA fines MEP €6,000 for non-cooperation regarding online platform 'Agora'.
The Cypriot Data Protection Authority (DPA) has fined a Member of European Parliament (MEP) €6,000 for failing to cooperate with the authority. The MEP refused to fully comply with requests to temporarily suspend his online platform, "Agora," which processed user identification via ID cards and biometric data, and allowed for the expression of political opinions. The DPA initiated an investigation after the platform's launch and requested a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), which was submitted incompletely, and the platform's operation was only partially suspended.
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The lesson from this incident
Full lessonA Member of European Parliament was fined €6,000 by Cyprus's Data Protection Authority for failing to cooperate with regulatory oversight of his 'Agora' platform, which processed sensitive biometric data and political opinions without a complete Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA). Processing biometric data and political opinions represents a high-risk activity under GDPR, making a thorough DPIA mandatory before launch—not optional or partial. The MEP's refusal to fully comply with suspension requests compounded the violation, demonstrating that non-cooperation with supervisory authorities carries its own legal consequences. This case underscores that no individual or organization—regardless of political status—is exempt from data protection obligations when handling special category data.