The report on the work of the Agency for Personal Data Protection (AZOP) for 2016 was used by parliamentary representatives on Thursday to warn about new threats and dangers in the virtual space and the importance of education, especially for children, regarding the protection of personal data on the internet.
“We live in an information society and this information circulates so quickly that we simply do not know how to cope with it. There is so much personal data on the internet that we are not even aware of it,” warned Darko Parić (SDP).
And while children are taught how to behave in traffic at school, no one teaches them how to behave safely on the internet, where many can suffer much worse than in traffic, Parić assessed.
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Marija Puh (HNS) agreed with him, stating that parents are not aware of what their children are doing on the internet and are unaware of the dangers. She emphasized that it is necessary to inform the wider public about the importance of personal data protection and called for ongoing education for children and professionals working with children, as well as parents, on ways to protect personal data.
Vesna Bedeković (HDZ) warned about the rise of cyber violence against children, highlighting that new applications appear on mobile phones every week, some of which are very dangerous, which is why special attention needs to be directed to this issue.
Branimir Bunjac (Živi zid) stated that the computer era opens up a range of new problems and believes that the Agency for Personal Data Protection should be a leader in proposing reforms.
According to the submitted report, AZOP received 1163 cases in 2016 related to requests for the protection of rights, requests for legal opinions, and citizen complaints, resolving 1196 cases.
The report on the financial audit of fire organizations was used by representatives to warn about the state of firefighting and the financing of fire departments.
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“There are many problems, especially visible in the summer when public attention is focused on firefighters,” emphasized Ante Sanader (HDZ).
For the financing of professional firefighters, 300 million kuna is allocated from the budget annually, but Sanader believes the problem is the uneven distribution of that money. “While the number of professional fire stations has increased from 48 to 66, some local units, especially islands, do not have professional firefighting at all,” he added.
Therefore, Sanader believes that the tradition of volunteer fire departments should be strengthened as this is the only way to effectively combat fires.
“The state is a mother to some and a stepmother to others,” said Alen Prelec (SDP), who believes that poor municipalities fare the worst in the distribution of these financial resources and cannot organize a fire service.
Miro Bulj (Most) cited the example of Split-Dalmatia County, which is four times larger than Istria and has two and a half times more inhabitants, receiving 15 million kuna for firefighters, while Istria receives 30 million. “Dalmatia is the most endangered by fires, yet the least decentralized funds go to Dalmatia,” he said.
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Deputy Chief State Auditor Jozo Serdarušić reported that the State Audit Office conducted a financial audit of 89 fire organizations, the Croatian Firefighters’ Association, 35 public fire brigades, 32 fire communities, and 21 volunteer fire departments for 2015, providing 39 unconditional, 48 conditional, and one unfavorable opinion for DVD Predavac, as well as one abstained opinion for DVD Slunj.
In the afternoon, representatives also supported a technical legal proposal regarding the authority of the Croatian Government to regulate specific issues within the jurisdiction of the Croatian Parliament through decrees, as well as a proposal to amend the Law on Construction Products, aligning legislation with European Union legislation.
The SDP’s proposal for a law on quality and logistics in healthcare, aimed at introducing a more efficient, comprehensive system of measures to improve the quality of healthcare in Croatia, was not supported by the ruling party, with the explanation that these issues would be resolved through other normative acts.
The Parliament will continue its session on Friday.
