It has been just over a year since Bermuda’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner (PrivCom) hosted the 45th annual meeting of this global forum that brings together more than 130 data protection and privacy watchdogs globally. The GPA has been around for a while: it first met in 1979 and was known until 2019 as the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. PrivCom joined the GPA in 2020 as an accredited member, with full voting rights on joint resolutions and an equal voice to participate in working groups.
Last year’s theme was “Ripples, Waves and Currents”, referring not only to the interconnected nature of privacy laws and data protection around the globe, but also to Bermuda’s unique geographical position, a small island of 21 square miles in the middle of the Atlantic, a speck in the ocean that is profoundly impacted by each ripple, wave and current that reaches its shores. It was a perfect metaphor for privacy.
This year, hosted by the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner, the 46th GPA annual meeting takes place in Jersey: one of the three self-governing Crown Dependencies (along with Guernsey and Isle of Man), an island located 100 miles south of Great Britain and 14 miles from the French coast of Normandy.
The overarching theme for the 2024 Annual Meeting is the Power of i and it “highlights the significance of the eight themes, which are intrinsically linked to encompass the harms, values, and enrichment of our human lives.” The aim of the annual meeting is to “establish and explore how people can respect and balance the power of information with the need for citizens across the world to have power, control, and dignity over their personal information.”
The discussions are expected to challenge the following questions:
• Who controls the power of information?
• What is this power being used for and by whom?
• What is the effectiveness of current regulatory models (and are they still fit for purpose in a rapidly changing world)?
• How can we improve individuals’ ability to manage their data?
• What is the path to achieving greater equity in data sharing? and
• How do we foster better behaviours and culture around the use of personal data?
Commissioner White, Deputy Commissioner Farquharson and Assistant Commissioner for Investigations Moulder represent Bermuda at this year’s annual meeting, which will seek to create a roadmap for the future, both short-term and long-term.