The Russian Federation is a social state. This means that the authorities of our country are obliged to take care of their citizens. But for this, she must have a certain amount of data about each person. How to collect, process and save such information? What is the penalty for disclosing personal data? These and similar questions will be answered in our material.
General characteristics of personal data
The methods of collecting, protecting and processing personal data of Russian citizens are regulated by Federal Law No. 152 "On Personal Data". Let's analyze the concept itself. In accordance with article 1 of this law, personal data refers to information relating to an individual and allowing him to be identified. They can contain anything: the name of a person, his marital status, address of residence, and even anthropometric features.
Any information about the personal life of citizens is confidential, that is, it is secret. It is not subject to disclosure or unauthorized collection. For such actions, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for different types of sanctions.
Private life
The concepts of personal data and privacy are closely related. Article 137 of the Criminal Code provides for the criminal legal protection of private information about a person. These include:
- information about relatives or close people of a person;
- information about the person himself, including details of documents and information about the place of residence;
- any other information that is confidential and protected by law (telephone conversations, correspondence, contents of wills, accounts with credit institutions, etc.).
The law prohibits the disclosure of personal data, that is, the information indicated above. This is a direct violation of the Criminal Code and articles 23-24 of the Russian Constitution. What does this threaten? Persons who decide to unauthorized disclosure of secret information will be prosecuted.
Signs of crime under Article 137 of the Criminal Code
In accordance with the disposition of Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, responsibility is laid for the disclosure of personal data, if there is:
- lack of consent of their holder to the collection or disclosure;
- the collection or dissemination of information is illegal.
In the first case, a person could disclose, for example, the contents of a will contrary to the will of its holder. In the second case, it may be about disclosing secret state information or about the data of a particular group of people.
Article 137 presents an alternative disposition. Disclosure of personal data through the media, in the course of public speaking or in works is recognized as a criminal penalty. The law does not establish the minimum number of persons to whom information can be transmitted. This means that for criminal offenses it will be sufficient to transfer information to just one person.
Sanctions for the disclosure of personal data
Article 137 of the Criminal Code provides for various sanctions for the collection and dissemination of classified information. If the crime is not serious, then the following types of punishments threaten the guilty person:
- imprisonment up to 2 years;
- arrest up to 4 months;
- a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles (or one and a half year salary of the guilty person);
- compulsory labor for up to 360 hours or correctional labor for up to 1 year.
An aggravating punishment is the collection or dissemination of information in connection with their official position. An example is the disclosure of personal data by the employer. The guilty person in this case will be exposed to rather severe sanctions:
- imprisonment up to 5 years or arrest for up to 5 months;
- a fine of up to 300 thousand rubles;
- forced labor up to 4 years (compulsory work is not provided).
The disclosure of personal data of employees and customers is a serious crime. However, even for him punishment will not be as severe as for the collection and dissemination of information about minors. The following types of punishments are established for such actions:
- arrest up to six months or imprisonment up to 6 years;
- fine up to 350 thousand rubles;
- forced labor up to 6 years.
Intentional disclosure of information about a person shall be punished to the fullest extent of the law. But how should information be stored and protected so that no one can get it and distribute it illegally? We turn to the standards of FZ-152 "On personal data".
Storage and protection of personal data
The confidentiality of personal information is protected by operators. These are professional workers who undertake not to disclose available information to third parties without the consent of the relevant entities. In this case, the information may be stored in a different form. Publicly accessible sources may include directories, address books, electronic systems and other media.
With the written consent of the personal data subjects, the source includes the surname and name, date and place of birth, address of residence, information about the profession, subscriber number and other information. At the request of the subject or by decision of the court, all information about a person can be deleted at any time.
The protection of personal data depends on its category. Thus, secret information may be of a private, municipal or even state nature. Depending on the type of data available, protection levels are also set.
Access to personal data
Who is entitled to the legal storage, processing and disclosure of personal data? Article 14 of the Federal Law-152 provides an answer to this question. Only the state has the full range of powers with regard to information about each person. It also creates special bodies responsible for the storage and processing of private information. Operators with limited powers regarding personal data work in such bodies.
The individual information subject gives the operator his consent to the protection and processing of data. The goals and legal grounds for such processing are established. At the same time, the operator himself is obliged to provide full information about himself: give his name and surname, position and location. The data storage periods are regulated, the necessary protection levels are established.
Personal Data Operator
About the operator should be told a little more. Who is he, what duties and rights does he have? The necessary information is in article 18 of the Federal Law-152.
The personal data operator must explain to the subject his rights. They also have several nuances. For example, the law does not always allow individuals to remove their own individual data from the database. The operator must explain to the subject why he is not able to delete the necessary information.
In addition, the base employee must notify people about the progress of processing, enter into various agreements with them, request permission to conduct statistics or research, etc. Simply put, the operator must report to the subjects for each of their actions with the available personal data. Disclosure to third parties is prohibited, and will be regarded as a serious crime (abuse of authority).
Information Processing Procedure
Article 5 of the Federal Law-152 sets forth the principles of working with personal data.So, the processing process should be based on justice and legality. The whole procedure should be limited only to the previously identified objectives. It is forbidden to combine databases with information of various types, to store information in an inappropriate form, to exceed the terms of work, and much more.
According to Article 6 of the Federal Law, the processing of individual data should be implemented only on certain conditions. So, the consent of the subject is necessary. Operators must immediately comply with court decisions. Do not forget that all implemented procedures are aimed at protecting the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens. That is why operators should work only in the interests of their customers.
Authorized state body
The authorized state body for the protection of the rights of subjects of personal information is the Federal Executive Body for the control and supervision of the compliance of data processing with the requirements of Russian legislation. What are its functions? The organization oversees companies whose purpose is the processing of personal data.
In accordance with Article 23 of the Federal Law-152, the authority has the following powers:
- request from individuals and legal entities information necessary for the implementation of their functions;
- restriction of access to information that violates the law;
- appeal to the court with claims in defense of the subjects of individual data;
- requirements from operators to clarify information, as well as its processing, protection, blocking, etc.
The represented body is executive, and therefore is subordinate to the government.