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Showing posts from January, 2023

The Presence of fMRI in European and American Courts

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By Konstantina Kotsaki MSc, Forensic Phychology  The permanent scope of courts has been to detect the truth and the lie, because they comprise the hallmark of justice. The last more reliable lie-detection tool before fMRI was the polygraph. fMRI was proved to be a more reliable tool, compared to a polygraph, to evaluate the claims of somebody as true or deceptive. Yet, it could detect false memory and if this memory leads to a lie or is restored. Its accuracy and reliability were proved through abundant scientific studies, and the scientific community has approved fMRI as a reliable lie-detection machine. Furthermore, fMRI could evaluate the psychopathic level of someone. The prejudices that the fMRI recordings were just images could not stand up. Either the countermeasures could not jolt the fMRI accuracy.  Since the beginning, neither the fact that its feedback did not cover all the American Supreme Court parameters to be accepted as court evidence nor the fear that the justice repre

ECJ: Every person has the right to know to whom his or her personal data have been disclosed.

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According to ECJ's Judgment (12/1/2023) in Case C-154/21 (Österreichische Post), every person has the right to know to whom his or her personal data have been disclosed. Nevertheless, the controller may indicate only the categories of recipient if it is impossible to identify the recipients or the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.  A citizen requested Österreichische Post, the principal operator of postal and logistical services in Austria, to disclose to him the identity of the recipients to whom it had disclosed his personal data. He relied on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). That regulation provides that the data subject has the right to obtain from the controller information about the recipients or categories of recipient to whom his or her personal data have been or will be disclosed.  In response to the citizen’s request, Österreichische Post merely stated that it uses personal data, to the extent permissible by law, in the course of its activitie

Fine of 5.5 million euros on WhatsApp for violation of the GDPR

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The Data Protection Commission of Ireland imposed a fine of 5.5 million euros on WhatsApp for breaches of the GDPR relating to its service. The Commission’s announcement states the following: “The Data Protection Commission (“DPC”) has today announced the conclusion of an inquiry into the processing carried out by WhatsApp Ireland Limited (“WhatsApp Ireland”) in connection with the delivery of its WhatsApp service, in which it has fined WhatsApp Ireland €5.5 million (for breaches of the GDPR relating to its service). WhatsApp Ireland has also been directed to bring its data processing operations into compliance within a period of six months. The inquiry concerned a complaint made on 25 May, 2018 by a German data subject about the WhatsApp service. In advance of 25 May 2018, the date on which the GDPR came into operation, WhatsApp Ireland updated its Terms of Service, and informed users that if they wished to continue to have access to the WhatsApp service following the introduction

Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer