Ekdotikos Oikos Dias Dimosia Ltd – Court Ruling (Cyprus, 2026)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A Cypriot TV channel, Sigma, published sensitive financial information about a public figure without properly considering their privacy rights. The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection ruled that Sigma failed to balance the public interest with the individual's right to privacy. This case highlights the need for media outlets to respect privacy while reporting news.
What happened
Sigma published financial information about a public figure without adequately considering privacy rights.
Who was affected
The public figure whose financial information was disclosed by Sigma without proper justification.
What the authority found
The Commissioner found that Sigma did not balance the journalistic interest against the individual's privacy rights, violating data protection principles.
Why this matters
This case underscores the responsibility of media outlets to protect individuals' privacy when reporting news. It serves as a warning for all content creators to carefully consider privacy implications.
GDPR Articles Cited
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On 13 March 2019, Sigma, a Cypriot TV channel operated within DIAS Media Group (ΕΚΔΟΤΙΚΟΣ ΟΙΚΟΣ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΑ ΔΙΑΣ ΛΙΜΙΤΕΔ), published a report disclosing financial information concerning a public figure in Cyprus (the data subject). The DPA treated DIAS Media Group as the controller responsible for the publication. The report formed part of coverage on whether there had been favourable treatment of a politically exposed person. On 15 April 2019, the data subject lodged a complaint with the Cypriot DPA concerning the disclosure of their financial personal data by Sigma and other media outlets belonging to the controller’s group. The DPA found that the controller had failed to properly balance the journalistic interest in publication against the data subject’s rights to privacy and data protection. In particular, the DPA considered that the controller had failed to demonstrate that it had taken into account certain balancing criteria, including whether the processing was carried out exclusively for journalistic purposes, whether it was strictly necessary to ensure the right to information on matters of public interest, whether the information was accurate and truthful, and whether there had been prior contact with the data subject. The DPA held that, by publishing information concerning the data subject’s financial situation, the controller had infringed the principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency, data minimisation and accuracy. Therefore, it found that the controller infringed Article 5(1)(a) GDPR, Article 5(1)(c) GDPR and Article 5(1)(d) GDPR. Accordingly, the DPA fined the controller €10,000 and ordered it to remove the publication from the websites of all entities controlled by it within one week. The controller challenged the decision before the Administrative Court of Cyprus. It argued, among other things, that the DPA had violated its right to freedom of expression and its exercise of journalistic freedom under Article 85 GDPR. The court found that th
Outcome
Court Ruling
A ruling by a national court on a data-protection matter.
Related Cases (0)
No other cases found for Ekdotikos Oikos Dias Dimosia Ltd in CY
This is the only recorded case for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
Ruling Date
26 May 2026
Authority
Commissioner for Personal Data Protection
GDPRhub ID
gdprhub-court-10053About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Ekdotikos Oikos Dias Dimosia Ltd - Cyprus (2026). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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