Bonum Certa Men Certa

Breaking News: EDPS Admits That It is Powerless to Investigate Claims of GDPR Non-compliance at the EPO

Nothing says 'European data protection' like outsourcing communications to an American surveillance firm



Summary: Nobody is truly in charge at the EDPS (and in Europe at large); they say EPO is "company" and all one can do is kindly ask the EPO itself to obey the law and stop outsourcing European data to American military contractors

Back in March, Techrights started publishing its exposé about the EPO's sell-out of its digital sovereignty to Microsoft.



At around the same time this matter was brought to the attention of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

"Its primary objective is to ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection when they process personal data and develop new policies."The EDPS is an independent supervisory authority established by the European Union. Its primary objective is to ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection when they process personal data and develop new policies.

You might have thought that the EDPS would be interested to learn about the alleged GDPR non-compliance at an intergovernmental institution which processes large amounts of personal data relating to EU citizens. You might even have expected them to carry out some kind of independent investigation like the Bavarian Data Protection Commissioner did back in 2015.

But sadly it turns out to be another case of "Not My Department".

"You might have thought that the EDPS would be interested to learn about the alleged GDPR non-compliance at an intergovernmental institution which processes large amounts of personal data relating to EU citizens."In its response to the complaint filed about the EPO, the EDPS has now stated that it is powerless to investigate claims of GDPR non-compliance at the second largest European intergovernmental institution.

Instead it suggests to the complainants that they "could contact EPO directly [...] by sending an email to DPO@epo.org".

The EDPS adds: "You can find this information in the company's Privacy Policy, available here: EPO - Data protection & privacy." (warning: epo.org link)

So as far as the EDPS is concerned, the EPO is a "company" rather than a public intergovernmental institution?

"So as far as the EDPS is concerned, the EPO is a "company" rather than a public intergovernmental institution?"Surely this is beyond a joke...

If EU citizens have a problem with the EPO's failure to comply with GDPR, the only available solution is to complain to the EPO?

And that is going to fix things?

Sounds like somebody in Brussels needs a reality check... URGENTLY!!!

Here's the text of the letter:

Our ref.: ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆



From: European Data Protection Supervisor

To: ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆

Date: Friday, April 16, 2021

Dear ⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆⬆

We are writing in response to your complaint submitted to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on 11 March 2021.

We would like to point out that the EDPS is the independent authority of the European Union (EU) that deals with the supervision of the processing of personal data done by EU institutions and bodies[1]. In this sense, our tasks are similar to the tasks of national data protection authorities in the EU Member States, but apply only at the level of the European Union and its institutions[2].

We have analysed the matter raised in your message, and it appears that your request does not relate to the processing of personal data by EU institutions or bodies.

The EDPS has no supervisory competence over other international organisations. In consequence, we regret to inform you that your complaint, regardless its possible merits, falls outside the jurisdiction of the EDPS and we therefore do not have any authority to investigate it.

Please be informed that the seat agreements that the international organisations have with their host states usually grant them certain privileges and immunities. These often exclude the application of national law to the international organisation and therefore, the national data protection authority (DPA) of its host state may not be able to assist you either.

However, please be advised that you could contact EPO directly regarding your complaint by sending an email to DPO@epo.org. You can find this information in the company's Privacy Policy, available here: EPO - Data protection & privacy.

Yours sincerely,




EDPS Secretariat

| Tel. (+32) 228 31900 | Fax +32(0)22831950 | › Email edps@edps.europa.eu European Data Protection Supervisor Postal address: Rue Wiertz 60, B-1047 Brussels Office address: Rue Montoyer 30, B-1000 Brussels @EU_EDPS www.edps.europa.eu

This email (and any attachment) may contain information that is internal or confidential. Unauthorised access, use or other processing is not permitted. If you are not the intended recipient please inform the sender by reply and then delete all copies. Emails are not secure as they can be intercepted, amended, and infected with viruses. The EDPS therefore cannot guarantee the security of correspondence by email.

[1] According to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018R1725 '... the European Data Protection Supervisor, shall monitor the application of the provisions of this Regulation to all processing operations carried out by a Union institution or body...' (see Article 1(3)). According to Article 3(10), the ‘Union institutions and bodies’ are the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies set up by, or on the basis of, the TEU, the TFEU or the Euratom Treaty (see http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm for a full list).

2 For example, like national data protection authorities we also provide advice to the legislator on new legislative proposals and on initiatives having an impact on data protection and privacy.




Data Protection Notice

According to Articles 15 and 16 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, please be informed that your personal data will be processed by the EDPS, where proportionate and necessary, for the purpose of investigating your complaint. The legal basis for this processing operation is Article 57(1)(e) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725. The data processed will have been submitted by you, or from other sources during the inquiry of your complaint, and this may include sensitive data. Your data will only be transferred to other EU institutions and bodies or to third parties when it is necessary to ensure the appropriate investigation or follow up of your complaint. Your data will be stored by the EDPS in electronic and paper files for up to ten years (five years for prima facie inadmissible complaints) after the case closure, unless legal proceedings require us to keep them for a longer period. You have the right to access your personal data held by the EDPS and to obtain the rectification thereof, if necessary. Any such request should be addressed to the EDPS at edps@edps.europa.eu. Your data might be transferred to other EU institutions and bodies or to any third parties only where necessary to ensure the appropriate handling of your request. You may also contact the data protection officer of the EDPS (EDPS-DPO@edps.europa.eu), if you have any remarks or complaints regarding the way we process your personal data. You can find the full version of our data protection notice on complaint handling at: https://edps.europa.eu/data-protection/our-role-supervisor/complaints-handling-data-protection-notice_en.

___________________________ [1] According to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32018R1725 '... the European Data Protection Supervisor, shall monitor the application of the provisions of this Regulation to all processing operations carried out by a Community institution or body...' (see Article 1(2)). According to paragraph 1 of the same article, the ‘Community institutions or bodies’ are the institutions and bodies set up by, or on the basis of, the Treaties establishing the European Communities (see http://europa.eu/about- eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm for a full list). [2] For example, like national data protection authorities we also provide advice to the legislator on new legislative proposals and on initiatives having an impact on data protection and privacy.


Notice the mistakes with the footnotes, the repetition, the odd formatting etc. A rushed job? Did they properly investigate the complaint at all? Or did they look for excuses to dismiss it upfront? Did they use a template that refers to the subject as "company" or do they seriously think EPO is now a for-profit corporation? And if so, are corporations above the law and above the state? Here's the original [PDF] FWIW.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Someone Should Remind Microsoft Lunduke That Microsoft Hires Many Sexual Criminals and Pedophiles as Well
Microsoft Lunduke on an "expedition" to find one or more perverts, then generalise to everyone in the "community"
Cash Machines (ATMs) Make Mistakes and They're Proprietary Software
Correcting mistakes is a colossal challenge
Yes, Microsoft is the Problem
"I am no MS shill."
Another Failed Use Case for Chatbots (LLM): Legal Advice and Analysis
They're just some self-discrediting toy that costs way too much to operate
Nonfree Software in My Bank, by Richard Stallman
Updated 8 hours ago
 
Links 29/07/2025: Data Brokers Gone Wrong/Rogue and "Copyright Thicket"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linuxconfig.org, Linuxsecurity.com, Fagioli, The Register
Today's "Slopwatch" isn't the first article about LLM slop
We Cover Topics Other Sites Are Too Afraid to Cover (Even When They Know the Facts)
It's not that they doubt the truth, they just realise there may be consequences for talking about it
They Try to Tell Us the Free Software Foundation Inc is Dying, But Its Revenue Doubled Since the Dot-Com Bubble Burst
Being in "Activism" is never easy; but it does positive things for society
It's About the Cost of Workers, Not the Fictional Skills Shortage (That Does Not Exist, the Media Spreads False and Sometimes Self-Fulfilling Narratives)
This issue isn't limited to computing, some dub it "globalism"
Links 29/07/2025: More Pushbacks Against Slop and More Praises of Tom Lehrer
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/07/2025: Purple Yarrow and Understanding Op Amps
Links for the day
This Monday WebProNews Absolutely Flooded the Web With Fake (LLM Slop) 'Articles' About "Linux", Google News Promoted Them as Legitimate
All of the following are fake articles attributed to pseudonyms or authors that don't exist; the images are also slop. Why does Google promote these?
Linuxiac is Not a Slopfarm, But at Least Some of Its Articles Are Machine-Generated Fakes
what we said about it was correct
Expect More Microsoft Layoffs
"Are more job cuts coming?"
Microsoft Behaving Like It's Running Out of Money to Pay Salaries
Does that seem like the behaviour expected from a company which claims it is "worth" trillions?
LWN Downtime Due to Linode, Not LLM Bots
"I’ve received an email letting me know that there is a potential for data loss."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 28, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 28, 2025
Links 28/07/2025: Science, Health, and Conflicts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Healthy Self-Image With Autism and a "New Life"
Links for the day
Links 28/07/2025: COVID-19 Sped up Brain Aging, "Circumvention is More Popular Than Compliance"
Links for the day
Richard Stallman is Usually Right Because He Thinks "Outside the Box"
he is able to observe society (mores and norms) as somewhat of an outsider
LWN Has Been Down for a Long Time, Another Casualty of LLM Bots?
Time will tell. How much time though?
Slopfarms Versus 'Linux' (and Against People Who Write Real Articles About GNU/Linux)
LLM slop in slopfarms by Brian Fagioli and Redazione RHC
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Running pkgsrc in a FreeBSD Jail
Links for the day
Microsoft Turns News Sites Into Spamfarms
Is the site The Register MS the next IDG?
The Register MS/The Register US
On Saturday I contacted them for a comment (before issuing criticism)
Hacking revelations at Vatican Jubilee of Digital Missionaries
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 27, 2025
The Week to Come
Planning ahead
LLM Slop Has Only Been a Boon for Misinformation Online
The very same companies that were supposed to maintain quality (again, not limited to Google with PageRank) are now actively participating in generating and spreading slop
When They Tell You It's Free, Does That Mean No Charges (If So, Who's Paying and Why)?
there's "no free lunch"
We're Going to Focus Less on the Molotov Cocktail-Throwing Microsofters and More on Patents
We can get back to focusing on what we wanted to focus on all along
Just Trying to Keep Web Sites Honest (Journalistic Integrity)
the latest articles in LinuxIac are real
Links 27/07/2025: Political Affairs, Data Breaches, Attacks on Freedom of the Press
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: Hot in Japan and Terminal Escape Codes
Links for the day
Links 27/07/2025: More Microsoft Layoffs Coming, Science and Hardware News
Links for the day
Links 27/07/2025: FSF Hackathon and "Hulk Hogan Was a Very Bad Man"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: DAW Mixer Chains and Simple Software
Links for the day
The Register MS is Inventing or Giving Air Time to New Conspiracy Theories so as to Distort the Narrative As High-Profile Agencies Fall Prey to Microsoft Holes
But the problem is holes, i.e. Microsoft making bad products; the problem is Microsoft
Most Editors at The Register Are American, Including the Editor in Chief, a Decade-Long Microsoft Stenographer (Writing Prose to Sell Microsoft)
It's not easy to tell where the site is based (we tried) because it's hiding behind ClownFlare and CrimeFlare hasn't been well lately
Pushers of systemd Rewrite History (Richard Stallman Said UNIX "Was Portable and Seemed Fairly Clean")
Unlike systemd
"New Techrights" Soon Turns 2 (A Few Days Before the FSF Turns 40)
We have a lot more to say about LLM bots
When Silence Says So Much
Garrett, a 'secure' boot pusher, will need to defend himself in the UK High Court
The Register in Trouble
There is not much that can be done at this point
Trajectory of The Register: From News Site/s Into "B2B"... and Into Microsoft Salespeople
Something isn't right at The Register
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 26, 2025
Misinformation in Social Control Media
Social control media passes around all sorts of tropes
Slopwatch: Fake Linux 'Articles' and Slopfarms With "Linux" in Their Names/Domains
throwing bots at "Linux" to make some fake articles