Confidential EU report criticizes poor protection of personal data in Poland

According to a confidential EU report obtained by Zycie, personal data are not sufficiently protected in Poland, and legislation regulating their security needs to be adjusted to EU standards. Indeed the law imposes penalties on those who do not protect information, but the same law accords no compensation to those who may incur losses as a result of such offenses. Thus, if a bank discards a bag containing information about its clients, they have no possibility to claim any damages. Furthermore, too many issues are classified as state secrets, constituting an important obstacle to cooperation between the Police and Europol. Finally, personal data are poorly protected by Polish courts. Although a draft amendment to the law has already been filed with the Office of the Commission for European Integration (UKIE), the issue of damages has not been addressed in it. (Zycie, pp.1,3) M.S.-C.