Social Affairs Ministry would launch data collection probe only after receiving request, says Zailskienė

Social Security and Labour Minister Jūratė Zailskienė says her ministry will not begin an investigation into the alleged collection of data on Palanga Mayor Šarūnas Vaitkus and other municipal officials until it receives an official request from the mayor or the prosecutor’s office, LRT reports.

During the government’s question hour in the Seimas on Thursday, conservative MP Mindaugas Lingė asked the minister what purpose the Social Security and Labour Ministry (SADM) had in gathering data on the Palanga mayor, council members, and civil servants. He also inquired whether the ministry’s chancellor, Svetlana Tučkė—a former candidate for the Palanga municipal council—could be involved, and whether the collected information might be used ahead of upcoming local elections.

Zailskienė responded that the allegations against the ministry currently lack foundation. “I want to say that the ministry will respond about the data only when we receive a request from Mr. Vaitkus or the prosecutor’s office. We cannot start any investigation without an official request,” she told the Seimas.

The minister also urged against jumping to conclusions about potential misuse of data, noting that some cases may relate to the operation of the Social Assistance for Families Information System (SPIS) and automated data processing. “Once a request is received, there will be a very clear answer. Neither the chancellor nor anyone else has access to these data and does not even have such an opportunity,” she assured.

Last Sunday, Vaitkus posted on Facebook that data about him, stored in the Centre of Registers, had been accessed by SADM more than 10 times. According to him, the ministry also reviewed personal data of Palanga municipality administration employees and some city council members belonging to the ruling majority, including his wife’s data.

The Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating a leak of over 600,000 real estate registry extracts from the Centre of Registers, with estimated damages of at least 111,000 euros. Arūnas Maskoliūnas, head of Lithuania’s Criminal Police Bureau, confirmed in late May that the data breach occurred via the Migration Department, which operates under the Interior Ministry. The State Data Protection Inspectorate has stated that around 500,000 residents were affected by the Centre of Registers data breach. Adrijus Jusas, the former head of the Centre of Registers who resigned, previously claimed that the large-scale data leak was detected in early April and that state institutions were informed.