Ministry of Justice Appeals to Political Forces

The Personal Data Protection Agency reminds that calls, short messages, emails, or other direct communications regarding electoral topics must be carried out strictly on a legal basis and in compliance with personal data protection requirements during the pre-election period. This is reported by the Ministry of Justice of Armenia.

“Recently, there have been reports that some political forces or individuals associated with them are sending calls, messages, and postal letters with electoral content to citizens and legal entities. Particularly concerning are instances where these individuals have had no previous connection with the respective forces, have not provided their contact information for this purpose, and are not informed of how their personal data was obtained and by what means.

The agency emphasizes that the use of personal data, including phone numbers, email addresses, and other means of communication for electoral purposes cannot be conducted arbitrarily. The collection, use, or transfer of personal data is unacceptable if there is no legal basis for it, and the data subject is not informed of the source of their data, the purpose of its use, and the grounds for such use.

It is also noteworthy that communications sent to legal entities, particularly individual entrepreneurs, may also utilize identifying or contact details, the processing of which must also meet legal and proportionality requirements.

We call on all political forces, pre-election headquarters, individuals acting on their behalf, as well as potential data processors, to strictly adhere to the requirements of personal data protection legislation and to refrain from actions where the origin of the data is unclear, there is no legal basis, or an individual could not reasonably expect to receive such communication.

At the same time, we urge citizens and individual entrepreneurs, in the case of such incidents, to preserve the data regarding received calls, messages, or letters as much as possible and to contact the Personal Data Protection Agency at Komitas 54B, Yerevan for further investigation, or send an email to [email protected] or [email protected],” the statement reads.