Database

Browse Database

GREECE

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Greece has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

GREECE

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signature
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Greece has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

GREECE

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Ratification of the UN Convention of Electronic Communications
Lack of signature of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Greece has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Coverage Horizontal

GREECE

Since June 2014
Since November 1994

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU

Law 2251/1994 on the Protection of Consumers
The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by Law 2251/1994 on the Protection of Consumers. The law contains provisions about terms of contract, distance selling, liability, and unfair trade practices among other things.
Coverage Horizontal

GREECE

Since 2011, last amended in 2021

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on domain names
Law 4002/2011 Amendment of the state pension legislation - Arrangements for growth and fiscal consolidation - Issues of responsibility of the Ministries of Finance, Culture and Tourism and Labor and Social Security
Art. 46 of Law 4002/2011 requires that gambling sites operating in Greece have a ".gr" domain name.
Coverage Gambling sector

GREECE

Since March 2010, entry into force in May 2010, last amended in 2018
Since 2021, last amended in 2021

Pillar Quantitative trade restrictions for ICT goods, products and online services  |  Sub-pillar Local content requirements (LCRs) on ICT goods for the commercial market
EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS)

Law 4779/2021 Transposition into national law of Directive (EU) 2010/13 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2010 on the coordination of certain laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to with the provision of audiovisual media services, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/1808 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 November 2018 and other provisions within the competence of the General Secretariat for Communication and Information
The EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) covers traditional broadcasting services as well as audiovisual media services provided on-demand, including via the Internet. Article 13(1) provides for member-states to secure a minimum 30% share of European works in the catalogues as well as "ensuring prominence" of those works. "Prominence" involves promoting European works through facilitating access to such works using any appropriate means to ensure prominence of European works.
Art. 17 of L. 4779/2021 provides that providers of on-demand audiovisual services must ensure that their catalogues contain European works at least in 30% and that they are prominently displayed. In addition, audiovisual service providers that are located in another member-state and address their services to consumers in Greece are obliged to annually contribute an amount equal to one and a half percent (1.5%) of their turnover related to their activity in Greece for the production of Greek audiovisual works or for the purchasing of licenses of Greek audiovisual works that have not yet been distributed or to pay that amount to the National Audiovisual and Communications Center S.A. for the funding of greek productions.
Coverage On-demand audiovisual services

GREECE

Since July 2000
Since 2002

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbor for intermediaries for any activity other than copyright infringement
Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive)

Presidential Decree 131/2003 Adjustment to Directive 2000/31 of the European Parliament and the Council regarding certain legal aspects of services of the information society especial electronic commerce in the common market Directive on electronic commerce and Directive 2003/31/EC
The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbor. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.

The Greek Presidential Decree 131/2003 implements almost verbatim the E-commerce Directive in Greece. The provisions in this Decree are considered to exempt the ISPs from every liability (civil, penal, administrative), even the severe liability of service providers according to article 8 of Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection. One considerable exemption to the no-liability rule is the field of data protection.
Coverage Intermediaries

GREECE


Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar User identity requirement
Mandatory SIM card registration
It is reported that Greece imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card, or a passport in case of foreigners, to activate a new prepaid SIM card.
Coverage Horizontal

GREECE

Since July 2000
Since 2002

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbor for intermediaries for copyright infringement
Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive)

Presidential Decree 131/2003 Adjustment to Directive 2000/31 of the European Parliament and the Council regarding certain legal aspects of services of the information society especial electronic commerce in the common market Directive on electronic commerce and Directive 2003/31/EC
The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbor. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.

The Greek Presidential Decree 131/2003 implements almost verbatim the E-commerce Directive in Greece. The provisions in this Decree are considered to exempt the ISPs from every liability (civil, penal, administrative), even the severe liability of service providers according to article 8 of Law 2251/1994 on consumer protection. One considerable exemption to the no-liability rule is the field of data protection.
Coverage Intermediaries

GREECE

Since 2006
In April 2014
Since 2011, last amended in 2013

Pillar Domestic Data policies  |  Sub-pillar Minimum period for data retention
Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC

Judgment European Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12 Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others

Law 3917/2011 Preservation of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or public communications networks, use of surveillance systems for the reception or recording of audio or video in public places and related devices
Under the Directive on Data Retention, operators were required to retain certain categories of traffic and location data (excluding the content of those communications) for a period between six months and two years and to make them available, on request, to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime and terrorism. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive invalid. However, not all national laws which implemented the Directive have been overturned. The Greek law implementing the Directive is still in place. Specifically, Article 6 of Law 3917/2011 requires that data be retained for a period of 12 months and it needs to be retained within the Hellenic territory.
Coverage Telecommunication services or public communication networks

GREECE

Since 2006
In April 2014
Since 2011, last amended in 2013

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Sub-pillar Local storage requirement
Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC

Judgment European Court of Justice in Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12 Digital Rights Ireland and Seitlinger and Others

Law 3917/2011 Data retention produced or subjected to processing in relation to the provision of services of electronic communications available to the public or public communication networks, use of systems of surveillance with the storing or reception of sound or image in public spaces and related provisions
Under the EU Directive on Data Retention, operators were required to retain certain categories of traffic and location data (excluding the content of those communications) for a period between six months and two years and to make them available, on request, to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime and terrorism. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive invalid. However, not all national laws which implemented the Directive have been overturned. The Greek law implementing the Directive is still in place. Art. 6 of Law 3917/2011 goes even further in the implementation of the Data Retention Directive by requiring that retained data on ‘traffic and localisation’ stay ‘within the premises of the Hellenic territory.’
Coverage Telecommunication services or public communication networks

GREECE

Since August 2011

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Sub-pillar Local storage requirement
Law 4002/2011 Amendment of the state pension legislation - Arrangements for growth and fiscal consolidation - Issues of responsibility of the Ministries of Finance, Culture and Tourism and Labor and Social Security
Art. 47 of Law 4002/2011 requires that data relating to the conduct of online gambling, as well as data exchanged between a player, licensee, internet service provider and financial institutions relating to such games are stored in servers located in Greece for a period of 10 years.
Coverage Gambling sector

GREECE

Reported in 2022

Pillar Telecom infrastructure and competition  |  Sub-pillar Presence of independent telecom authority
Presence of independent telecom authority
It is reported that the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GREECE

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure and competition  |  Sub-pillar Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom companies
Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom sector
The Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (OTE) is the incumbent telecommunications provider in Greece. Although the company was privatized in 2001 and the Greek state has been gradually reducing its participation in OTE's share capital, it is reported that Greece still owns 7.2% of OTE's share capital.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GREECE

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure and competition  |  Sub-pillar Functional/accounting separation for operators with significant market power
Lack of mandatory functional separation for dominant network operators
Greece does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is a remedy that may be imposed to SMP operators. It is currently imposed to the incumbent and the three mobile operators.
Coverage Telecommunications sector