Greece

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Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

    Greece has complied with all European Union provisions covering protection of privacy. There exists no censorship in the Internet.



    In Greece, protection of privacy was (and is) considered a very important issue. In 1997, the Authority for the Protection of Data of Personal Character (A.P.D.P.X.) was formed by the Hellenic Government, in order to supervise matters of privacy. In accordance to the Schengen Treaty (the European Union legislation covering several matters in regards to movement of people within the EU), all entities that possess personal data of their clients (or people who come into contact with them in any way) have to publicly announce (and in particular to their clients) the nature of the data they keep on them. Furthermore, forwarding or selling this data to any other person or entity in any way is a crime.
    There is no censorship of the Internet or of broadcasting. Certain limitations do exist on when the crime of "defamation by acts or words" has been considered as committed. Yet, no measure can be taken before a broadcast is made (one certain exception exists: defamation of the President of the Hellenic Republic; yet, there has been no such case ever recorded, or, at least where this law was ever invoked).