AEPD Sanctions VilaWeb for Reporting on Infiltrated Police Officers

• The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has initiated sanctions against the digital outlet VilaWeb for reporting on police officers infiltrating social movements.
• The AEPD demands the removal of specific details, including the officers' pseudonyms, real identities, unpixelated photographs from protests, and information regarding an officer's family ties and union activities.
• VilaWeb’s director, Vicent Partal, denounces the move as a dangerous form of administrative censorship that bypasses judicial oversight to suppress investigative journalism.

Nature of the Dispute

• The AEPD justifies the sanctions by claiming the officers involved are 'undercover agents' requiring protection.
• VilaWeb argues that the individuals are actually 'intelligence agents'—a category mentioned by the Ministry of Interior but lacking specific legal regulation or judicial supervision.
• The outlet warns that if allowed to stand, this precedent enables public officials to force the removal of truthful, relevant reporting without a court order.

Political and Legislative Response

• A coalition of four Catalan parliamentary groups (CUP, Comuns, ERC, and Junts) has denounced the sanctions as a violation of fundamental rights and an attack on freedom of the press.
• They have expressed support for the investigative work of outlets like La Directa and VilaWeb, pledging to incorporate these cases into ongoing parliamentary inquiries.
• Deputy Àgueda Micó of the Compromís party has filed written questions to the Spanish Congress, challenging the government to clarify if it supports the AEPD's actions and how it intends to prevent data protection laws from being used to restrict public interest reporting.