Civil society organisations Repubblika and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation have launched a joint legal initiative to bring together people whose personal data was revealed online through a massive data leak.

The database, which was held by IT company C-Planet Solutions Ltd., contained personal information regarding anyone who had the right to vote in the 2013 elections, including sensitive information such as their political leanings.

The two organisations have now urged anyone affected to join their legal action by filling in a form (see pdf link below) authorising the organisations to take legal action on their behalf.

Those filling the form did not have to be members or share the same ideas and positions of Repubblika or representatives of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, they said.

More than 330,000 records were leaked, with sources telling Times of Malta that the database originated as a Labour Party list. The PL subsequently distanced itself from the leak. 

C-Planet Solutions Ltd. is owned by the brother-in-law of MP and former PL president Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, whose legal firm's data was also left exposed online.  

The organisations said the breach was a barefaced breach of privacy and this type of action contravened the laws protecting the privacy of every individual.

Not everybody wanted their political beliefs broadcast to the four winds and it was reasonable for a person to fear that they suffered or may suffer discrimination or other consequences because of this very serious leak.

It would seem that the way the information was gathered, stored and shared did not have the explicit consent of the majority of Maltese and Gozitans listed in the database. It would also seem that this data was collected to be used, and since it was used without the persons’ consent, it was used illegally, they said.

“This is not only a question of privacy. It is also a question of how a political party – in this case, the Partit Laburista – has exploited the collection of data to manipulate the democratic process. 

“Those who will suffer from this type of action are those citizens whose information was collected, stored and used; it is for this reason that it is up to the citizens themselves to take action.”

To join the legal bid, download the PDF below or click this link.