WHAT IS TO BE DONE: CAN THE WORLD PROTECT ITSELF FROM THE ALL SEEING INFORMATICS EYE

Rodoljub Sabic*

In recent months, in dozens of major cities in the USA, including New York, Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles, rallies have been organized by citizens disgruntled in the knowledge that the authorities are reading their e-mails and SMSes and tapping their phones without limitations and control. The protesters think that the scary vision of the totalitarian world of Orwell's 1984 is on its way to be materialized, and they are saying to the government ''No 1984'' , ''Read Constitution, not my e-mail", ''Restore the 4th Amendment".

The Law on Free Access to Information is mostly used by ''ordinary'' citizens, whereby making an important contribution to the control of authorities. However, the awareness of the right to personal data protection is not good, in fact it is far from satisfactory, says the Commissioner Rodoljub Sabic, in a conversation with Vojislav Tufegdzic.

Commissioner Sabic wrote to authorities about the material regarding Djindjic's murder back in 2008

ON THE TRAIL OF

Belgrade – The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Rodoljub Sabic, has drawn attention of the Government of the Republic of Serbia to the illegality of its actions regarding requests of journalists to be granted access to the full material of the Commission which had been investigating omissions in the security of the Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic before the assassination.

It is difficult to establish a mechanism to force the institutions of the Republic of Serbia to cooperate

Orders were earlier ignored by ministries, and public enterprises nowadays

IT TOOK eight years and several conclusions of the National Assembly requesting the Government to provide adequate working premises to the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, for him to finally be granted the premises this week. Due to years of having been ignored, and due to the fact that some institutions persistently fail to act upon the rulings of the Commissioner, a part of the public has formed an impression that this institution is ''a dead letter''.

Having experienced problems in many countries, Google shall have to guarantee protection of privacy and personal data of Serbian citizens to Rodoljub Sabic.

Regarding the news that Street View will be launched in Serbia, Rodoljub Sabic, Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection has stated that Google is already applying the technology for blurring faces and license plates, and that everyone is entitled to request blurring of any portion of the image which contains the data on themselves, their car or home.

Both the Head of EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert and European Parliament Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin have stressed the key role of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and independent regulatory bodies in the control of executive power and ensuring compliance with civil rights. At the conference in Belgrade ''Civil Rights in Serbia: Role of the National Assembly and Independent Institutions", Degert has said that the National Assembly plays a key role in monitoring the implementation of legislation in practice and exercise of civil rights.