A privacy world gathering in the Channel Islands

Bailiwick Data Protection Commissioner Brent Homan recounts a week with global partners focused on elevating privacy rights in the Channel Islands and around the world.

Last week the leaders of the Privacy and Data Protection world gathered in Jersey for the annual Global Privacy Assembly.  Our Channel Island counterparts, the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner did an outstanding job as hosts, for an event that focused on key global privacy issues ranging from Artificial Intelligence to Children’s Privacy.

Guernsey took a leading position in many of these engagements, harnessing the power of partnership to expand our capacity and serve the interests of the Bailiwick and its residents.

The week kicked off with the global announcement of our Joint Statement to combat unlawful Data Scraping which can fuel cyber-attacks and lead to serious privacy harms including identity theft.  We signed this statement alongside fifteen regulatory partners from every corner of the world.

In a nutshell, Data Scraping is the collection of personal information, by automated means, from publicly accessible sources including social media platforms like Facebook or TikTok.  

Guernsey led several discussions with global digital players, setting clear expectations for security safeguards and platform monitoring.  We were pleased with the engagement from many of these companies, including commitments to ongoing improvements given the ever-evolving nature of data-scraping threats. 

Towards strengthening partnerships, we signed cooperation agreements with the data protection authorities of Abu Dhabi, the Isle of Man and Bermuda.  There is significant strategic benefit in forging such alliances, given how much we have in common as smaller jurisdictions boasting innovative, global financial services hubs. 

To the extent that we can share experiences and strategies for promoting privacy rights, this will strengthen our individual and collective stance as progressive and innovative jurisdictions where high data protection standards represent a competitive advantage.

We have not delayed in putting these agreements into action, as this very week staff from the Privacy Commissioner’s Office of Bermuda have joined us here in Guernsey, discussing key topics such as effective investigations, breach reporting and community outreach.

Furthermore, it is crystal clear the protecting Children’s privacy rights is not just a priority for our office but represents a leading issue around the world.  Many discussions and debates focussed on the daunting task of protecting our children online, and I highlighted the challenges associated with ensuring adequate protection in the metaverse, with an average of 500 million users per month, over half of those being under 12 years of age.  From Fortnite to Minecraft to Roblox, we all have a responsibility to ensure a safe environment with proper oversight as children explore and engage with such platforms.

But I would say the most insightful discussion of the week involved a panel of high school students, sharing their experiences online and issuing a plea to regulators and companies alike to not overlook their voice when deciding on how to protect, and more importantly, empower them, in today’s digital world. 

All too often, in our rush to protect our loved ones from all the harms we perceive on this planet, we forget to pause and include them in that important conversation.

The week concluded very much how it started – with the realisation that at no other time in history has data protection been so vital to the advancement of societies, economies and individual rights. 

From Generative AI to sophisticated cyber-attacks, to the use of data to threaten democratic systems, the risks are very real and equally sobering. 

But so too are the opportunities for data to drive our societies and economies to heights of progress that were barely thought achievable just a few decades back.

And this is the very reason why it is so vital for global authorities to stand together in protecting and advancing the privacy rights of our citizens.  One of my favourite French expressions is – “l’union fait la force” which I believe quite aptly reflects the global axiom and truth of us all being “stronger together”.