Although the privacy and data protection space has been evolving as technology becomes even more deeply embedded in our societies, COVID-19 has thrown up a whole host of challenges and issues that we must also address. Attorney-at-law and Certified Information Privacy Professional, Grace Lindo, is back with us to discuss, among other things: how the privacy and data protection space has evolved since our last conversation in 2018; what are some of the privacy-related concerns and issues that have emerged since COVID-19; and what are some of the privacy and data protection trends that have begun to emerge.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes, Google Play Music and on Stitcher!

Across the board, the global pandemic, COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus, has highlighted a broad range of issues, challenges and deficiencies. In some instances, the issues were known, but became exacerbated during the pandemic, such as the quality and availability of the Internet in countries,. In other instances, we were satisfied with what had been the status quo, and so may have been woefully unprepared when change was needed, such as to facilitate remote work and remote learning. It is in the latter category that we find privacy and data protection, our area of focus for this podcast episode.

In our current data- and information-centric world, data protection and privacy have become increasingly important, with many Caribbean countries enacting legislation for that area. Further, it could be argued that the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in 2018, set a new standard for the depth and breadth of the systems that can be instituted to protect citizens’ data.

In relation to COVID-19, privacy and data protection have come to the fore, both directly, and indirectly. There have been several reports about a surge in cyberattacks since the start of the pandemic, and there has been much debate in many quarters about an individual’s right to privacy versus matters related to public health and safety.

 

Introducing our guest

Grace Lindo

Grace Lindo is an Attorney at Law and a Partner at Carter Lindo, a recently established legal partnership, based in Jamaica. Grace’s specialties include corporate/commercial, intellectual property and technology, and she is a Certified Information Privacy Professional, as conferred by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. She also sits on the Legislation and Regulations Committee of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, and the Commercial Committee of the Jamaica Bar Association.

Grace is a graduate of the University of the West Indies. She is also a Chevening Scholar, and attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she completed a Masters of Law in Competition, Trade and Innovation.

 

Insights into our conversation

Grace has been on the Podcast twice before. The first conversation, in 2018, was on privacy and data protection, with a focus on national security: as legislation to support the establishment of a national identification system in Jamaica was being widely debated at the time. The second conversation, which was released in early 2019, was on intellectual property protection, which it could be argued is an issue that perhaps has not been given the attention it deserves in the Caribbean region, but could really bolster technology innovation.

Hence, our conversation this time around could be considered a continuation of what we had begun in 2018, whilst also taking into account our current environment and circumstances. Below are some the questions that were posed to Grace:

  1. Can you give us an update of some of the key development that have occurred in privacy and data protection since we last spoke on the subject in 2018?
  2. During the legislative process, the Jamaica Data Protection Act was widely debated. What were some of the contentious issues, and now that it has been passed, how were some of those issues resolved?
  3. As countries try to battle COVID-19, what have been some of the privacy-related concerns and issues that have emerged?
  4. Outside of the Caribbean region, there has been some debate about whether data protection laws have been hindering (and continue to hinder) the public health measures that need to be implemented. What are your thoughts?
  5. Are there any basic minimums that could be maintained, to balance privacy rights with public health imperatives, as we seek to manage COVID-19?
  6. What is informational privacy, and what does it entail?
  7. Could anonymisation (or even pseudomisation) work as a means of protecting an individual’s right to privacy, for example in the contact-tracing process?
  8. In a previous conversation you had mentioned Jamaica Eye. What were some of the concerns you has with the initiative, and what might be some of the implications once the Data protection Act comes into force?
  9. Looking forward, what are some of the trends you are seeing in privacy?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: Jan Alexander (Pixabay);  G Lindo

Music credit: Ray Holman