The Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection has begun receiving a growing number of complaints and reports concerning unsolicited promotional SMS messages and phone calls from parliamentary candidates, campaign teams and political parties. In many cases, these practices exceed acceptable limits and become intrusive, while some instances appear to violate existing data protection legislation. Since last December, the Commissioner’s Office has issued guidance to political parties, aiming to inform candidates of their obligations under personal data protection laws. Failure to comply may result in administrative fines for unlawful or intrusive interference in citizens’ private lives.
Findings indicate that a significant number of candidates remain insufficiently informed about basic data protection requirements, leading to repeated breaches. Responsibility lies to a large extent with political parties, which were expected to properly brief their candidates.
Commissioner confirms complaints
The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Maria Manoli Christofidou, confirmed to Politis that complaints have already been submitted.
“The Data Protection Authority has received complaints regarding the sending of unsolicited SMS messages during the pre-election period, and the phenomenon is under evaluation,” she said.
She highlighted that election periods involve increased processing of personal data for political communication purposes, with the key challenge being the balance between freedom of political expression and citizens’ right to privacy. She also noted that political parties were informed in December 2025 of their obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and were provided with relevant guidance, which they were expected to pass on to their candidates.
The most common violations identified include:
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Mass sending of unsolicited promotional messages without prior consent
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Use of outdated or questionable contact lists
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Publication of photos or personal data of third parties without a lawful basis
What candidates must comply with
The sending of political messages via platforms such as Viber, WhatsApp, email and SMS is permitted only with the prior consent of recipients. The use of random numbers (spamming) is prohibited, and recipients must be given a clear and simple option to opt out.
Senders are required to ensure that personal data is collected and processed lawfully. Recipients must also be informed about who is contacting them, for what purpose their data is being used, and how it was obtained. The collection of personal data from publicly available sources, such as directories, for promotional purposes without explicit consent is prohibited. Data collected for other purposes cannot be repurposed for political communication.
Persistent violations despite fines
Despite significant fines imposed in previous elections, complaints related to data protection violations remain high.
During the 2024 European Parliament and local elections, 44 complaints were submitted. Fines totalling €9,000 were imposed in 14 cases, including:
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€5,000 for six complaints linked to the campaign of Stavros Stavrinides
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€1,000 for two complaints linked to Andreas Constantinou
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€1,000 for two complaints involving Vasilis Demetriades
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€1,000 for two complaints linked to Costas Mavrides
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€1,000 for two complaints involving Loukas Eleftheriou
In the 2023 presidential elections, 77 complaints were submitted. Of these, four were referred to police for criminal investigation, while 44 resulted in fines totalling €41,000:
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€36,000 related to 37 complaints involving the campaign of Nikos Christodoulides
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€3,000 linked to Antigoni Papadopoulou
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€2,000 linked to Tasoula Tsokkou
In the 2021 parliamentary elections, 68 complaints were submitted, with administrative fines imposed in 25 cases totalling €29,500:
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Democratic Party: €12,000 for nine violations
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EDEK: €4,500 for four violations
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Alekos Tryfonides: €6,000 for seven violations
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Andreas Themistocleous: €4,000 for five violations
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Geadis Geadi: €2,000 for three violations
Restrictions on campaigning in the public sector
In a recent decision ahead of the parliamentary elections, the Council of Ministers has banned individual candidates from visiting public services. Pre-election visits are also prohibited in National Guard units, the police, prisons, hospitals, care homes and other closed institutions. However, visits to government departments remain permitted when conducted by party leaders, official party delegations or groups of independent candidates.