To provide true, complete, accurate, and timely information to the public regarding the publication of the text on the front page of the newspaper "Danas" in print form, titled "Personal Data of Citizens Now 'On a Silver Platter' for Scammers," published on March 19, 2026, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Milan Marinović (hereinafter: the Commissioner), issues the following press release:

It is incorrect that the Commissioner stated in a conversation with a journalist from the newspaper "Danas" — as claimed on the front page of that media regarding the aforementioned topic:

"If the Prosecution Office for High-Tech Crime confirms that a breach has occurred,

we will initiate an inspection supervision."

Rather, the Commissioner's statement, correctly cited on page 21, refers to the confirmation of a personal data breach by the company "Telekom Srbija a.d." itself, within its capacity as a Data Controller.

The Commissioner reminds the public that the institution of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection is an independent state body, autonomous in its work. Consequently, its actions in a specific case—and particularly the decision on whether to initiate an inspection — do not depend on the actions of the Special Prosecution Office for High-Tech Crime.

These two bodies have clearly divided jurisdictions: the Special Prosecution Office for High-Tech Crime is responsible for prosecuting the perpetrators of a hacker attack, while the Commissioner is responsible for determining whether a personal data breach occurred at the specific data controller.

Furthermore, in the text on page 21, where the Commissioner’s statement is cited, a part that is not a direct quote, incorrectly states that the Commissioner noted that heavy fines "can be prescribed" for this type of misdemeanor; the truth is that he stated that these fines are already prescribed.

In the hope that we have thus informed the public of the Commissioner's statement exactly as it was given, and in the wish that such interpretations are not repeated,

Commissioner
Milan Marinović