Technology - Media - Electronic Communications - Internet

Introduction - Rules concerning public funding of broadband networks

The right to participation in the Information Society and the right of access to information is protected by the Greek Constitution (art. 5A par. 1 & 2). The provision is interpreted as the right of everyone to participate in the Information Society and, accordingly, the state has a responsibility to assist in the advancement i.e not to hinder the enjoyment of of such right. In that sense the notion of “universal service” is used in order to enhance the introduction by network providers of broadband networks

Complying with the legal provisions for ensuring confidentiality and security of public electronic communications is a legal requirement for licensing and functioning of Communication and Internet Service Providers.

PRIVACY, DATA PROTECTION AND DATA RETENTION
Is the right to the confidentiality of communications protected by the Constitution?

According to article 9 of the Greek Constitution one’s privacy and family life is inviolable. According to article 19 par. 1 of the Greek Constitution the confidentiality of the communications is absolutely inviolable with the exception of national security reasons and the criminal investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crimes, where the Judicial Authority is entitled to order the lawful interception of content and access to communications data. Violation of the constitutional right leads to criminal and in some cases administrative sanctions.

According to article 19 par. 2 of the Greek Constitution the protection of confidentiality of the communications is also a matter of an Independent Authority: Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (A.D.A.E.).

What services may be considered as e-commerce B2C services?

E-commerce service, is any service normally provided by a trader to the consumer (B2C) under an organized distance sales or service-provision scheme, without the physical presence of the trader and the consumer and with the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication by electronic means up to the time of the concluding of the transaction. Indicatively, e-mails, fax, internet and radio are included in the definition of distance communication by electronic means.

Certain professions and services, such as within the tax sector, or cartel agreements, notarial services and betting sites, are excluded from the current regulatory framework with regards to the electronic commerce in Greece.

In view of the above, we note that a non-public service platform, such as taxi services provided by Uber platform, shall not be considered as a B2C platform for the purposes of this analysis, since such services are promoting specific providers, prescribing the requirements of the later and establishing certain conditions for setting their payment (Case C- 434/15, Asociación Profesional Élite Taxi V. Uber Systems Spain SL).

What is an electronic crime?

Criminal offenses that are committed using computers and data processing systems lie within the meaning of an electronic crime (computer oriented crime) and are punished by specific penalties under Greek legislation.

Depending on how the offence was committed, electronic crime is distinguished in the following categories:

• crimes committed both in an offline environment and on the Internet, such as defamation, forgery, etc.;
• crimes committed exclusively with the use of computers (computer crimes) ; and
• Genuine cyberspace crimes, meaning criminal behavior related solely to Cyberspace (cybercrimes), the commission of which necessitates not only the use of a computer but of the Internet as well.

Therefore, the key element of committing a cybercrime is a connection via Internet to an information system computer. This computer can be either the target of the attack, or the main instrument of the attack, or ultimately a supporting instrument for committing the attack.