If the police, the prosecution and the court would treat the issue of the "personal data" of Albanians made public in April 2021, with the same seriousness as they treated the unauthorized construction of a chicken coop by an 82-year-old lady in Nartë, Vlora, today there would be no need for the Prosecution and the police to request a ban on the publication of the hacked materials.
The prosecution has not yet found the culprits of making public the data of 900 Albanians - culprits that everyone knows - except for the prosecutors.
The publication ban notice is of little practical value. This announcement has no force outside the territory of Albania and is more of a blow to the freedom of the media than it is to protect "national security". National security is threatened by organized crime and corruption, by incompetent and irresponsible officials and not by journalists. The media and journalists are not complicit in the act of hacking. They have no role in this story. The crime was committed by others.
Hacked materials that can be accessed by anyone and anywhere can serve as valuable information for the media and can be of public interest. Journalists have no role in the "hacking" of documents.
There are a lot of legitimate questions that are still unanswered today?
Why did the SPAK first and then the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana still not close the investigations into the "data leak"? Your 18 has passed and the matter is complex, but very simple. And here we have not had hacking. Investigation for which 18 hours are enough. How did the data collected only by ANA end up in the hands of patron Nazis? Only this question must be answered!
After the salaries were published, it was officially promised that the defense system would be strengthened and more would be invested in security.
What is happening with the TIM system? A closed system that even according to experts is very difficult to hack?
Among the hundreds of thousands of hacked documents, there may be documents that violate national security, but there are undoubtedly documents that are of public interest. Even those from the TIMS system. If journalists, for example, use these documents to verify the entries and exits of wanted persons (e.g. the incinerators case), is this public interest or a "violation of national security"?
If the journalists raise the question: how is it possible that the police was informed that highly wanted persons were in the center of Tirana and did not act? Is this question of public interest or does it harm national security?
If journalists find out from emails addressed to the Prime Minister (also hacked) that we have a denunciation of a corruption affair, is this a matter of public interest or a violation of national security?
Based on the law on the right to information, journalists can request copies of the emails of any high-ranking official, and here we have neither a violation of order, nor a violation of national security, nor even a violation of privacy.
There is a doubt based either on the seriousness of the investigation or on the commitment of the authorities. Because they made fun of the leakage of personal data and subsequently lied saying: "the data is safe", "they did not receive anything important", etc., etc.
Journalists and the media have the right to collect and process information that is already public. But in this case showing care to maintain the safety of individuals. Not everything can be published, but there is no doubt that there are many subjects of public interest. A good selection, a consultation with lawyers and an increased caution would be a great service to the public.
It is not the duty of journalists to keep "secrets", but to publish them.
As for the authorities, journalists can have more faith in the police and the prosecutor's office if (I repeat) for the "leakage of personal data", they show the same zeal as they showed for the 82-year-old lady from Narta.
PS The announcement of the Prosecution on the ban is not found either on the official website of the Prosecution or on the official website of the police. At the moment it is only available on the Facebook page of the police. Maybe it is also in some whatsapp or telegram group.