Activities in social media concerning persons freedom of expression and informing on events of public importance

Since support of the aggressor state and its glorification is a punishable act in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, any such manifestation or alleged infringement can be reported to the competent law enforcement authorities for further investigation. Thereby, there is legal mechanisms in place how to handle such situations, for instance, individuals can report on supporters of Russian aggression in Latvia by capturing comments, posts, photos in social media and share them online directly with the police. Nonetheless, persons also choose to post personal data related information in the social media platforms to raise awareness and keep the society informed about precise individuals or their whereabouts. 

It is well known that General Data Protection Regulation (hereafter – GDPR) allows processing of personal data for the purpose of publishing information of public interest, however, in this regard the proportionality between the individual's privacy and the public's right to follow important events shall be balanced beforehand. As indicated by the DVI, in order to assess the proportionality between the right to freedom of expression (including freedom of speech) and the right to the protection of personal data, the information must be assessed before publication, taking into account the following considerations:

Keeping aforementioned into account, when analyzing information for publishing about important events for the society, it is necessary to carefully assess the purpose of the publication and the impact of the publication on the person included therein. As provided by the DVI, personal data (especially in cases where the impact on a person is expected to be rather negative) may only be published when the purpose of the publication cannot be achieved without mentioning and identifying the individual. Therefore, there still is a certain boundary between the right to freedom of expression and the right to the protection of person’s privacy. And, if this line is crossed, illegal processing of personal data more likely, than not will take place. To avoid potential violations of GDPR provisions, it is utmost importance to thoroughly assess what information, including personal data, may be posted on individuals even though their actions allegedly are illegal.