Privacy and data protection have been gaining visibility globally. Even here in the Caribbean region, more countries that had not addressed the issue, are developing the requisite policies and legislation. Digital law and policy lawyer, Bartlett Morgan, joins us again to give us an update on privacy and data protection since our last conversation in 2018, and discusses among other things: some of the emerging issues around AI and privacy; the balance between hyper-personalisation and privacy; and key trends he is seeing in the privacy and data protection space.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and Stitcher!

With European Union’s (EU’s) General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into force in May 2018, the world of privacy and data protection has been irrevocably changed. Organisations are becoming more aware that they do not have an unalienable right to individuals’ personal data, and that cannot be used for any purpose they wish. Increasingly, both organisations and consumers are becoming more aware of concepts and principles such as privacy by design and the right to be forgotten, and even the need to advise individuals on the types of information that will be saved on them and how it may be used.

In 2018, just before GDPR came into force and in one of our first episodes of the Podcast, we discussed the then-new and emerging concepts that GDPR would be introducing. At that time, we were not quite sure of the impact that GDPR would have here in the Caribbean region, and so there was anticipation and apprehension in nearly equal measure.

However, nearly five years later, GDPR still looms large in the privacy and data protection space. And in that intervening period, it appears that Caribbean countries are still trying to wrap their arms around privacy and data protection with a view to creating practicable frameworks for their jurisdictions. So far, some countries have been more successful than others.

 

Introducing our guest

Bartlett Morgan

Bartlett D. Morgan is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and is accredited by the IAPP as a Certified Information Privacy Professional with a focus on European privacy laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). He also holds a certificate in Data Protection Officer Skills and has received training from the University of Oxford’s Said Business School on Cybersecurity Leadership.

Bartlett is experienced in the practical implementation of various privacy-related compliance objectives, throughout the entire data lifecycle. He has provided privacy consulting services to clients with respect to their operations in the Caribbean, the United States and South America. Bartlett has addressed privacy issues across multiple sectors including distribution, retail, financial services, fintech, tourism and digital media.

He has authored GDPR compliance guidance for service providers throughout Caribbean Community (CARICOM)/Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) as part of an EU-funded project and also made both oral and written submissions to the Joint Select Committee of Parliament established to debate and report on the bill that eventually became the Barbados Data Protection Act, 2019-29.

Bartlett operates a dispute resolution and digital law-focused legal practice from chambers at Chancery Advocates in Barbados. He regularly provides updates on digital law and policy issues impacting the Caribbean on his blog, bartlettmorgan.com. Bartlett also consults on regional projects with digital elements via Bloomfield Digital.

 

Insights into our conversation

Before 2016, privacy and data protection would not have been part of the mainstream conversation as it is today. However, nearly five years after the GDPR came into force, it is indeed gratifying to know that across the region there is greater awareness of privacy and data protection, as more countries move to upgrade existing legislation or enact the relevant legislation for the first time.

In this conversation with Bartlett, and noting current and emerging technology, we had to consider privacy-related issues that may emerge, or are already emerging, with respect to artificial intelligence (AI), the hyper-personalised end-user experience, and even how our biometric and genetic data is handled under the law. Although the privacy space is still developing, it is likely that we become more aware and vigilant of our privacy rights, and be more prepared to interrogate requests from law enforcement, for example, who so far tend to have wide latitude in many jurisdictions.

Below are key questions posed to Bartlett during our conversation:

  1. Can you give us a sense of how the privacy and data protection space has evolved generally, and more specifically, in the Caribbean region since we last spoke in 2018?
  2. If you were to give the Caribbean region a health check on the state of their data privacy laws, what could that be?
  3. Are there any Caribbean countries that, in your opinion, have adopted a solid approach to data privacy?
  4. As AI gets a stronger foothold in our lives, questions are being asked with respect to the datasets that are being used to train those platforms and the extent to which matters related to privacy and data protection are not being considered. What are your thoughts?
  5. We are living in a world of hyper-personalisation. How do we balance getting personalized recommendations and protecting our personal data? In fact, can a balance be found?
  6. What are key trends you are seeing in privacy and data protection of which we should be aware?
  7. What would be 3 to 5 things you would advise Caribbean businesses to do to better handle data privacy?

 

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Select links

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

 

 

Images credit:  B Morgan;  2541163 (Pixabay);  Tech Daily (Unsplash);  Alpha Photo (Flickr)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez