Culture Ministry Fined €10,000 for Publishing List of Ties to Russia

Bratislava, 22 October (TASR) – The Culture Ministry has been fined €10,000 by the Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) for creating and publishing a database of citizens and companies with alleged ties to Russia, TASR learnt on Wednesday. The list was made public under the previous leadership, headed by former minister Natalia Milanova (2020-23). The ministry has lodged an appeal against the decision, disputing only the amount of the fine, not the violation itself. It also criticised the previous leadership for discriminatory practices. "During its term, a document titled 'A List of Companies with Owners and Links to the Russian Federation' was published on the official website of the ministry, containing the personal data of thousands of individuals and companies," said Petra Demkova, director of the ministry's press department. She added that it remains unclear who ordered the drafting of the list. Its publication in a section related to grant-funding raises suspicions that it was intended to serve as a basis for excluding certain entities from public-funding decisions. "In its ruling, UOOU stated that by publishing personal data, the ministry violated the principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency in personal data processing, and issued the fine," said Demkova. The appeal was submitted on 16 October and challenges only the level of the fine. "The ministry fully respects the legality of the sanction and acknowledges the misconduct that occurred under the previous leadership," said Demkova. According to the current management, the case demonstrates that the previous leadership oversaw discriminatory practices in awarding grants as justified and acceptable. It also allegedly shows that while it publicly endorsed values of freedom and democracy, its actions contradicted those principles. mf/df