Announcement of Legal Action by Hey Portugal, relating to EU Data Protection Laws

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Published on Wednesday, 11 April 2012 15:53

Written by Wendy Manning

We are making this statement to stop any rumours that are spreading about our data security and to assure all Hey Portugal users that we (Mint Lda, t/a Hey Portugal) have never sold or shared our user database, but we now believe that it has been used without our permission by another organization.

We have always treated our user’s personal data with the greatest of care and security. We have a strict Privacy Policy which states that we do not share users data with any organisation outside Mint Lda and we are very proud of this fact. Despite having been approached by companies to buy our database we have never sold or shared it. We always check that any companies working for us understand this policy and that their own data security policies comply with it.

It was brought to our attention recently that some of our users had received emails from a 3^rd party expat organisation without their permission and against EU Data Protection and Privacy laws. According to the information we received, the emails came from We Talk (t/a Portugal Friends) who are associated with Leaping Ahead, who worked for Mint Lda (t/a Hey Portugal) until 2011, designing and hosting our website www.heyportugal.com.

This information was of great concern to us, so with assistance from our legal team we immediately investigated the situation. We were shocked and appalled by the results of this investigation.

Based on evidence and statements which we have received, we have now made a formal complaint to the Public Prosecutor who has started legal proceedings.

This is all we have to say about this matter until the Public Prosecutor has carried out his enquiries, but hopefully this will stop the rumours and will assure Hey Portugal users that we really do take Data Protection very seriously. 

Please add your comments below, but be aware that we cannot answer specific questions about this until the legal process has been completed.