Montenegro Data Protection Agency warns of breaches of private information following latest Covid measures

A Montenegrin data protection organization has slammed the Health Ministry’s decision to permit unlicensed persons to check citizens’ personal information upon entry into establishments as part of the latest Covid measures.

Speaking out on Wednesday against the Health Ministry’s decision, Muhamed Gjokaj, a member of Montenegro’s Council of the Agency for Personal Data Protection, expressed concern that allowing staff from establishments to check citizens’ Covid certificates and national identification could lead to information breaches.

“The Health Ministry should explain on the basis of which specific legal norms it has prescribed that waiters have the right to process the personal data of citizens who enter a café or restaurant”, Gjokaj told local news.

The agency’s concern comes after Montenegro’s Health Ministry granted powers on July 30 to establishments, such as nightclubs and indoor restaurants, to check the Covid vaccination or viral status of attendees. The organization asserted that this violates the country’s Personal Data Protection Law, which states that health information can only be checked by medical personnel.

In response to concerns from the agency, the head of the country’s Digital Health branch, Aleksandar Sekulić, defended the Health Ministry and its scheme. Sekulić upheld that the requirement “corresponds to the standards of the European Union, given the fact that an identical system operates in all EU member states… Citizens themselves, by providing information about certificates, consent to data processing, and there are no legal or functional barriers or violations of confidentiality.”

The Montenegrin data protection organization is not the only group to have voiced concerns. Lawyer Andrijana Razic warned that the government is removing the rights of citizens and resembling more of a dictatorship through its recent measures in an interview with local news on Tuesday.

The Balkan country with a population of more than 622,000 has administered just over 182,100 first doses, with the number of second doses standing lower at around 155,800.

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