What is Data Privacy Day?
- This is an international day to create awareness about the importance of respecting privacy, safeguarding and enabling trust for personal data.
- It is celebrated globally on 28 January, commemorating 28 January 1981, which was the day Convention 108 was opened for signature to the member states of the Council of Europe . Convention 108 was the first legally binding international instrument in the area of data protection.
- The purpose of #DataPrivacyDay is to spread awareness about online privacy and raise awareness for people to take control of our how their data is used.
- #DataPrivacyDay reminds us of important matters such as building security safeguards so that you as an individual or the entity you represent are not left vulnerable to a personal data security breach and training on how to build resilience after a breach.
The Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019, and the Data Protection and Privacy Regulations, 2021 provide rights enforceable by a data subject against entities processing their data. These include the following:
- Right to access personal information.
- Right to prevent processing of personal data and the right to appeal decision to continue processing personal data.
- Right to prevent processing of personal data for direct marketing.
- Rights in relation to automated decision making.
- Right to rectification, blocking, erasure and destruction of personal data.
?5 ways you can protect your privacy:
- Use an online privacy focused search engine.
- Always update your software and operating system.
- Use encryption to protect your personal data.
- Train your employees who handle personal data collected, controlled and or processed by your entity.
- Review the privacy settings on your online accounts. ?
?Key words to remember when dealing with data protection and privacy.
- Personal data means information about a person from which the person can be identified, that is recorded in any form and includes data that relates to the nationality, age or marital status of the person; the educational level, or occupation of the person; an identification number, symbol or other particulars assigned to a person; identity data; or other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of the data controller and includes an expression of opinion about the individual.
- A data subject means an individual from whom or in respect of whom personal information has been requested, collected, collated, processed or stored.
- A data controller means a person who alone, jointly with other persons or in common with other persons or as a statutory duty determines the purposes for and the manner in which personal data is processed or is to be processed.
- Consent means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject’s wish which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the collection or processing of personal data relating to him or her.?
- Data processing means any operation which is performed upon collected data by automated means or otherwise including organization, adaptation or alteration of the information or data; retrieval, consultation or use of the information or data; disclosure of the information or data by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available; or alignment, combination, blocking, erasure or destruction of the information or data.
