Data Protection Commissioner opens investigation into anti-divorce emails
Data Protection Commissioner Joseph Ebejer has confirmed that his office is investigating the manner in which emails requesting support for the anti-divorce camp were circulated by schools administrators to teachers.
Confirming that an investigation into circulation of emails is underway, Ebejer however declined to express an opinion or comment on whether the matter constitutes a breach of Data Protection or not when.
Last week, the Teachers' Union (MUT) voiced its concern about "pressures on educators" to support the anti-divorce campaign, and claimed a breach of data protection.
The Green party Alternattiva Demokratika, had subsequently called on the Data Protection Commissioner to investigate.
According to the email, the wife of anti-divorce movement chairperson Andre Camilleri, former children’s commissioner Sonia Camilleri, had asked administrators to petition teachers to support their cause.
The claims were hotly contested by the anti-divorce movement Zwieg Bla Divorzju, who denied that it had circulated e-mails to employees at school. The movement said the e-mail was circulated by people who had asked the movement how they could support it and were told to forward their email addresses to the movement’s address.
“We have been asked by Mrs Sonia Camilleri wife of Andre Camilleri, who is leading the anti-divorce campaign in Malta to help them out by sending them an e-mail confirming that you are against divorce in Malta giving your names and also if possible your mobile nos. This is to have our e-mails addresses in their register so should they want to send out any information, updates etc. they can do so” – the email reads.
According to the MUT, reports of such incidents were received from a small number of Church Schools and from some MCAST institutes. The union it would inquire as to whether a breach of data protection had taken place. “The MUT believes that these issues are totally unrelated to work and such emails constitute an abuse of power,” the union said.
The union also instructed members to refrain from replying to the emails and to notify the MUT if such practices are going on in their school. “If members want to support any movement unrelated to the workplace they may do so on their own private initiative.”
Contacted on Friday, Ebejer confirmed that he had been alerted by the MUT on the same day that this was released, but no meeting was deemed necessary at the time.
“I had been alerted about the MUT’s press release just prior to your telephone call. No meeting was deemed necessary. The information required at that point (copy of the press release) was submitted to this Office by e-mail later that same day,” he said.
“Given that the matter is under investigation, at this stage, I do not feel I should express any opinion or comment on whether the sending of the messages in question constituted a breach of the Data Protection Act or not,” Ebejer confirmed.
Camilleri is a former Commissioner for children, the first ever to be appointed, and has in the past expressed herself against in vitro fertilisation in representations to the social affairs parliamentary committee.