A man is confused about “double standards” in the processing of personal data in the Riga City Council / Article

Edmunds, a viewer of the show, said that while helping his mother deal with the payments, he had a misunderstanding about the amounts on the real estate tax bill. Mom lives in Riga, so he contacted the Property Department of the Riga City Council.

“They ask for the customer’s number, which I called. Of course, they understand from the voice that it’s a man calling, not my mother. They ask me to give her the phone, because there is personal data protection. They can’t tell me,” said Edmunds . Since mom was not around, the conversation had to be stopped.

Edmund did not rest and after some time called again. In the next call, everything could be clarified by giving the customer’s number, first and last name.

“Strange double standards.

It’s as if there should be one standard within one institution that they follow in these cases to protect that personal data, but often it’s used as some kind of caveat,” Edmunds reasoned.

The Data State Inspectorate explained that when providing information by phone, the authorities should reduce the risks so that the information reaches the real estate owner directly, as it is information related to a specific person and his property. If the institutions were to provide any information without checking anything, they would violate the principles of data security, said Ekaterina Macuka, Director of the Data State Inspection.

Meanwhile, the Acting Head of the External Communication Department of the Riga City Council, Mārtiņš Vilemsons, stated that it is possible to obtain information by phone in order to reduce the bureaucracy and meet the residents. However, in cases of doubt, the caller has the right not to provide information.

To avoid such cases and help loved ones cope with difficult situations more easily,

Riga City Council recommends registering on the “eRiga.lv” portal and creating your own individual security password, which only the owner and a relative or trusted person know.

After that, in a telephone conversation with Riga City Council employees, this password can be mentioned in order to receive the necessary information.

On the other hand, to obtain sensitive data about relatives, for example, children or grandchildren, you should use the “Latvija.lv” website, where you can delegate a person who will be able to obtain information in situations where the person cannot do it himself.