Ref. Ares(2019)4607822 - 16/07/2019
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology
Resources and Support
Compliance and Planning
Head of Unit
Brussels,
CONNECT/R4
Mr Alexander Fanta
Netzpolitik.org
Rue de la Loi 155
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Advance copy via email:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx
REGISTERED LETTER WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT
Subject: Your application for access to documents- Ref GestDem 2019/3059
Dear Mr Fanta,
We refer to your e-mail dated 22 May 2019 in which you make a request for access to
documents in accordance with Article 2(1) of Regulation 1049/2001 on public access to
documents (hereinafter, ‘Regulation 1049/2001’), registered on 3 June 2019 under the
abovementioned reference number. We also refer to our holding reply dated 25 June
2019, our reference Ares(2019)4028923, whereby we informed you that the time limit
for handling your application was extended by 15 working days pursuant to Article 7(3)
of Regulation 1049/2001.
1.
SCOPE OF YOUR APPLICATION
You requested access to:
‘- Meeting minutes of all meetings of the High Level Expert Group on Fake News and
Online Disinformation and the working group responsible for the creation of the Code of
Practice on Disinformation, from its inception last year till its conclusion;
- All preparatory emails and other documents related to the work of the High Level
Expert Group.’
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
2.
DOCUMENTS FALLING WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE REQUEST
We have identified the following documents:
a. All minutes of meetings of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake news and the
Multistakeholder Forum on Disinformation
-
Document 1: Minutes of the First Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake
News, 15 January 2018;
-
Document 2: Minutes of the Second Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake
News, 7 February 2018;
-
Document 3: Minutes of the Third Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake
News, 23 February 2018;
-
Document 4: Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Fake
News, 7 March 2018;
-
Document 5: Minutes of the First Meeting of the Multistakeholder Forum on
Disinformation, 29 May 2018;
-
Document 6: Minutes of the Second Meeting of the Multistakeholder Forum on
Disinformation, 20 June 2018;
-
Document 7: Minutes of the Third Meeting of the Multistakeholder Forum on
Disinformation, 17 July 2018;
-
Document 8: Minutes of the Fourth Meeting of the Multistakeholder Forum on
Disinformation, 17 September 2018.
b. Other documents related to the work of the High-Level Expert Group (including
preparatory emails)
- Document 9: Invitation to High Level Expert Group, 22 December 2017;
-
Document 10: Letter to the members of the High- High-Level Expert Group on Fake
News, 10 January 2018 and its Annexes: Agenda (
Document 11), Background Note on
Fake News and Disinformation online (
Document 12) and Rules of Procedure of the
High-Level Group of Experts on Fake News (
Document 13);
-
Document 14: Standard privacy statement;
-
Document 15: Note to the attention of High-Level Expert Group on Fake News: Rules
on Reimbursement, 16 January 2018 and the attached information sheet (
Document 16);
-
Document 17: Email to the members of the High Level Expert Group on Fake News,
17 January 2018;
-
Document 18: Email to the Chair and members of the High-Level Expert Group on
Fake News, 22 January 2019 and the attached list of subgroups;
2
-
Document 19: Agenda of the second High-Level Expert Group Meeting;
-
Document 20: Note to the attention of High-Level Expert Group on Fake News: Rules
on Reimbursement, 19 February 2018 and the abovementioned (
Document 16) attached
information sheet;
-
Document 21: Agenda of the third High-Level Expert Group Meeting;
-
Document 22: Note to the attention of High-Level Expert Group on Fake News: Rules
on Reimbursement, 2 March 2018 and the abovementioned (
Document 16) attached
information sheet
-
Document 23: Agenda of the fourth High-Level Expert Group Meeting
-
Document 24: Report of the independent High-Level Expert Group on fake news and
online disinformation.
3.
ASSESSMENT UNDER REGULATION 1049/2001
Having assessed the identified documents under the provisions of Regulation 1049/2001,
we have arrived at the conclusion that full disclosure can be granted for sixteen
documents. Partial access with only personal data redacted can be granted to all other
documents.
A. Full disclosure
Documents No 1-8, 11-14, 16, 19, 21,
23 and
24 are fully disclosed.
Please note that documents 1-4, 11-13, 19, 21, 23 and 24 are publicly available on the Register of Commission Expert Groups via the following link:
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&grou
pID=3567
Documents 5-8 are publically available via the following link:
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/meeting-multistakeholder-forum-
disinformation
B. Partial access with only personal data redacted
Parts of
documents No 9, 10, 15, 17, 18, 20 and
22 contain personal data, in particular
names, initials, contact details, functions, handwritten signatures of the Commission
staff. They also contain contact details (email addresses and telephone numbers) of the
members of the High-Level Expert Group. Pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) Regulation No
1049/2001, access to a document has to be refused if its disclosure would undermine the
protection of privacy and the integrity of the individual, in particular in accordance with
European Union legislation regarding the protection of personal data.
The applicable legislation in this field is Regulation (EC) No 2018/1725 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons
with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices
3
and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No
45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC1 (‘Regulation 2018/1725’).
Indeed, Article 3(1) of Regulation 2018/1725 provides that personal data ‘means any
information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person […]’. The Court of
Justice has specified that any information, which by reason of its content, purpose or
effect, is linked to a particular person is to be considered as personal data2 . Please note in
this respect that the names, signatures, functions, telephone numbers and/or initials
pertaining to staff members of an institution are to be considered personal data3.
Pursuant to Article 9(1)(b) of Regulation 2018/1725, personal data shall only be
transmitted if ‘[t]he recipient establishes that it is necessary to have the data transmitted
for a specific purpose in the public interest and the controller, where there is any reason
to assume that the data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced, establishes that
it is proportionate to transmit the personal data for that specific purpose after having
demonstrably weighed the various competing interests’.
Only if these conditions are fulfilled and the processing constitutes lawful processing in
accordance with the requirements of Article 5 of Regulation 2018/1725, can the
transmission of personal data occur.
In your application, you do not put forward any arguments to establish the necessity to
have the personal data transmitted for a specific purpose in the public interest. Therefore,
the European Commission does not have to examine whether there is a reason to assume
that the data subject’s legitimate interests might be prejudiced.
Notwithstanding the above, please note that there are reasons to assume that the
legitimate interests of the data subjects concerned would be prejudiced by disclosure of
the personal data reflected in the documents, as there is a real and non-hypothetical risk
that such public disclosure would harm their privacy.
Consequently, I conclude that access cannot be granted to the abovementioned personal
data, as the need to obtain access thereto for a purpose in the public interest has not been
substantiated and there is no reason to think that the legitimate interests of the individuals
concerned would not be prejudiced by disclosure of the personal data concerned. We are
therefore disclosing a version of the mentioned documents with the personal data
redacted.
You may reuse the documents free of charge, for non-commercial and commercial
purposes provided that the source is acknowledged, that you do not distort the original
meaning or message of the documents. Please note that the Commission does not assume
liability stemming from the reuse.
1 Official Journal L 205 of 21.11.2018, p. 39.
2 Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 20 December 2017 in Case C-434/16, Peter
Novak v Data Protection Commissioner, request for a preliminary ruling, paragraphs 33-35,
ECLI:EU:T:2018:560
3 Judgment of the General Court of 19 September 2018 in case T-39/17, Port de Brest v Commission,
paragraphs 43-44, ECLI:EU:T:2018:560
4
4.
CONFIRMATORY APPLICATION
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled to make a
confirmatory application requesting the Commission to review the above positions.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days upon
receipt of this letter to the Secretary-General of the Commission at the following address:
European Commission
Secretary-General
Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1)
BERL 5/282
B-1049 Bruxelles
or by email to: xxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xx
Yours sincerely,
(e-Signed)
Katleen ENGELBOSCH
Enclosures: (24)
5
Electronically signed on 16/07/2019 12:18 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 4.2 (Validity of electronic documents) of Commission Decision 2004/563
Document Outline