Spiros Simitis, a pioneer of data protection law, passed away on March 18 after a long illness. He was a leader in the protection of privacy and freedom of individuals throughout Germany and Europe. Simitis was an 88-year-old German-Greek who played a vital role in shaping the fundamental understanding of the right to informational self-determination across Hesse, Germany, and Europe. Alexander Roßnagel, the Hessian data protection officer, mourned the loss of Simitis, who was instrumental in creating the first-ever set of standards for data protection in 1970.
Simitis was a professor of law and legal informatics in Frankfurt am Main, who initiated the first discussion on data protection in Germany in 1969. From 1975 to 1991, he served as the second Hessian data protection officer. He also played a significant role in developing widely-recognized principles for the implementation and enforcement of the right to informational self-determination. His work contributed to the recognition of data protection as a fundamental right by the Federal Constitutional Court in its 1983 census ruling.
Simitis was the head of the Council of Europe’s expert commission for data protection issues between 1982 and 1986. Later, he advised the EU Commission on data protection issues and helped birth the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive, a predecessor to today’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Simitis had a unique vision of democracy and privacy, emphasizing that “Democracy is characterized by a waiver of information.” His predictions often turn out to be prophetic. Simitis warned about the dangers of biometric mass surveillance long before it became a major issue in the debate about automated facial recognition in public spaces. He believed that the prevention policy leads to controllability of those affected by state and private data collectors.
Simitis’ death is a significant loss for the data protection community worldwide. The data protection conference of federal and state governments is committed to upholding Simitis’ legacy to protect, defend, and develop citizens’ rights, freedoms, and informational self-determination. Simitis was “Greek by birth, European by conviction, and a data protectionist with passion.”
