Public Meetings Scheduled: Privacy Initiative
The Government will be hosting two information sessions to seek public input into legislative initiatives to fortify privacy protection rights; the first will be Thursday [Aug 6] from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Ruth Seaton James and the second on Friday [Aug 7] from 12 noon to 1:30pm at Wesley Methodist Church Hall in Hamilton.
“Two information sessions hosted by the Government later this week will seek public input into legislative initiatives to fortify privacy protection rights for all Bermuda residents,” the Ministry said.
“Protecting personal information – the right to informational privacy – will be the focus of the public meetings hosted by the Department of E-Commerce of the Ministry of Economic Development.
“They are scheduled for this Thursday August 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at Ruth Seaton James Auditorium, and, Friday August 7 from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm at Wesley Methodist Church Hall in Hamilton.
“The meetings are part of the consultative process for the Personal Information Protection Act [PIPA] Draft Model that foreshadows anticipated legislation.
“The period of consultation began July 10 and ends August 17. An important objective of the comment period is to identify unintended consequences with the proposed PIPA Draft Model.
“Rights to privacy are globally being recognised as basic human rights and the Government intends to introduce privacy legislation to comprehensively protect all Bermuda residents.
“The PIPA Draft Model proposes to regulate to an international standard the use by organisations of personal information.
“It details best practice in the collection and use of personal information and seeks to safeguard the privacy of individuals in relation to the use of personal information whether held electronically by computers, or in manual files.
“This model also takes into account Bermuda’s economic interests, regulatory regime and unique characteristics.”
Minister of Economic Development, Dr Grant Gibbons, commented, “Bermudians believe it is important that their personal information is protected. Once finalised, these measures will address those concerns.
“In addition, our legislative initiatives must pass the international standard to enable the unhindered transfer of personal information between Bermuda and other countries.
“Meeting an adequacy test would increase opportunities for international business, satisfying privacy compliance requirements. It puts Bermuda organisations on a level playing field with those based in other jurisdictions that are already deemed adequate.”
The PIPA Draft Model is available for review [privacy.bm].
Formal feedback is invited in writing, which must be submitted with the official Consultation Submission form. Apart from the website, forms are also available at the Department of E-Commerce.
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