Civil society organisations Repubblika and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation have launched a joint legal initiative for those whose personal data was revealed through the data leak from the servers of the company C-Planet Solutions Ltd.

The database contained personal information on anyone who had the right to vote in the 2013 general elections, including sensitive information such as the political intentions or leanings of over 330,000 private individuals.

“This is a barefaced breach of privacy and this type of action contravenes the laws protecting the privacy of every individual. Not everybody wants their political beliefs broadcast to the four winds and it is reasonable for a person to fear that they suffered or may suffer discrimination or other consequences because of this very serious leak that affected anybody eligible to vote in 2013,” the organisations said.

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It seemed the way the information was gathered, stored and shared did not have the explicit consent of the majority of Maltese and Gozitans who are listed in this database. The organisations also pointed out that it seemed this data was collected to be used, and since it was used without the people’s consent, it was used illegally.

“This is not only a question of privacy. It is also a question of how a political party – in this case, the Labour Party – has exploited the collection of data to manipulate the democratic process. Those who will suffer from this type of action are those citizens whose information was collected, stored and used; it is for this reason that it is up to the citizens themselves to take action.”

Individuals interested in joining the class action suit are provided with forms to be filled, authorising the organisation to start administering the legal action also on their behalf. This is open to all – participation is not restricted to members or representatives of the organisations involved.

You can download the form here.