AZLP on the Exclusivity of Some Media: Police Authorities Provide Data, Then a Public Image Is Created

The report of the Agency for Personal Data Protection in BiH for 2015 will be presented to the deputies of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH at the session on Monday, with special attention devoted to the processing and protection of data in the police sector, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Analyzing media reports, the Agency concluded that police authorities make personal data available to the media or enable access to them contrary to legal provisions, primarily the principle that obliges police authorities as controllers to „not process personal data collected for specific, explicit and lawful purposes in any way that is not in accordance with that purpose."

The Agency states that by publishing this data, a public image of criminal proceedings is created, thereby harming both private and public interest.

- The question arises as to how certain media have the exclusivity to obtain specific information and whether there is a certain form of corruption behind this.

In the report, the Agency specifically addresses footage of arrests of suspects, often in their underwear, and states that such footage cannot represent a public interest.

- Searching and arresting suspects constitutes an interference with their privacy for which the police have authorization. The issue is that state interference, through police authorities, in the right to private life regarding the processing of personal data must be lawful.

The exercise of police powers also involves the processing of personal data, but this must be in accordance with the principles of lawful processing of personal data. This means that police powers are applied in a manner that has the least harmful consequences for the data subject, leading to so-called proportionality, i.e., the principle that personal data are processed only to the extent and measure necessary to fulfill a specific purpose.

- It is not entirely clear whose footage from the arrests it is. Is it police footage? If so, many questions arise, such as: what is the legal basis and purpose, how was it made available to the media, etc. The Criminal Procedure Code provides for the recording of actions taken in criminal proceedings by audio-visual means, but here too the legislator was clear: recordings cannot be publicly shown without the written consent of the parties and participants in the recording. If it is media footage, other types of questions arise: how did the media get to the arrest, the exclusivity of certain media in accessing information, and the like – the Agency states.

It is unacceptable for a mother to learn of her child's death through the media, and both the media and those who provide them with this data or enable access to it must take care of this. European standards are also clear in this regard. In the coming period, the Agency will, within its competencies, undertake certain activities with relevant institutions on these issues. For the Agency, there is no doubt that public authorities are obliged to inform the public, but this must be balanced between the right to information and the right to personal data protection, and there are standards for this.