Special Investigation Service charges 14, arrests 5 for disclosure of confidentiality of personal information

Georgia’s Special Investigation Service on Monday said it had charged 14 and arrested five individuals for disclosure of confidentiality of personal information in separate cases, and recovered files containing personal information of minors.

The Service said it had arrested an individual who had created a fake social network page before communicating with three underage girls between May and September in the country’s southern Tsalka municipality.

It said the accused had gained minors' trust and received intimate photos and videos from them “through deception and coercion”, before publicly posting materials sent by two of the victims on his page and using them to force the victims to take and send further photos and videos.

The body said it had also charged three individuals for disclosure of confidentiality of personal information in an incident in the western region of Samegrelo in July, where a school student had sent her intimate photos and videos via Facebook Messenger to a 14-year-old boy she knew, with the latter in turn sharing the material with two of his friends, leading to the material being shared among the victim’s classmates.

The Service also noted its investigation had revealed 10 other individuals had relationships at different times with their acquaintances and victims they met through social networks, and had obtained intimate materials of the victims through mobile phones and social networks before sending them to the victims' relatives and other persons using social networks.

It added the alleged offenders were being charged with violating confidentiality of personal information - with the crime punishable by imprisonment for eight years - after the victims addressed authorities over the incidents, with the body providing investigative and operational measures in a “short period of time [while] fully protecting their confidentiality”.

The body also added it “actively continued” to raise awareness among minors to prevent violations of personal information.