The personal data commissioner on Tuesday moved to halt the operation of the Agora app created by MEP Fidias Panayiotou, citing failures to comply with the general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Commissioner Maria Christofidou said the authority had formally requested the suspension of the Agora app until a mandatory assessment was completed.

Speaking on both radio and television, she said the platform processes “special categories of data, such as political opinions, on a large scale”, adding that this triggers stricter obligations under articles 35 and 36 of the GDPR.

“An impact assessment is a preventive legal and technical risk assessment carried out before processing begins when there is likely to be a high risk to citizens’ rights,” she explained.

Christofidou said the authority first alerted those involved in October 2025 and sent a letter to Panayiotou’s legal representatives on February 20 requesting immediate suspension.

“So far there has been no written confirmation or action in this direction,” she lamented.

She urged the public to be “particularly careful” when submitting personal data, especially political views.

Panayiotou rejected the request, accusing the authority of acting under political pressure ahead of elections.

“There is no way we will remove the application,” he said, insisting that if shortcomings were identified “we will fix them the same day”.

He argued that users register voluntarily and said any dispute would ultimately be taken to the European courts if sanctions were imposed.

In a separate intervention, the Paralympic Committee said it had never given “permission, approval or any form of consent” for the use of its logo in a video by Panayiotou relating to para-athletes.

The unauthorised use of the emblem, it said, was “arbitrary and unacceptable” and created “false impressions of cooperation or institutional support”.

The committee called for the logo to be removed immediately and for a public clarification that no collaboration exists, warning that it “reserves all its legal rights” if this does not happen.

Panayiotou, who founded the recently renamed Direct Democracy of Cyprus party in 2025, plans to contest upcoming parliamentary elections while serving as an MEP.

He has faced criticism over past remarks about people with intellectual disabilities, referring to such individuals as “loonies” (pelloi), prompting complaints from disability organisations.