GDPR: Six months on

Monday 26 November 2018

Six months into the new data protection legislation, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has confirmed that local organisations are continuing to respond positively to the higher standards required of them and the rights of consumers are being protected.

Since the law was introduced on 25 May, 454 local organisations have fulfilled their legal obligation to register with the ODPC, in addition to the 2,000 who registered prior to that date. In the past six months, just 71 breach notifications have been received via the new online reporting system.

Emma Martins, Data Protection Commissioner, said she was very encouraged by the response among organisations in the Bailiwick to the higher standards required of them under the new legislation.

"When data protection is done well, it helps build and maintain trust between organisations and the individuals whose data they hold. The ‘datification’ of all our lives has brought with it changes in the way we live and how others shape our experiences, relationships and power balances. Regulatory effectiveness therefore plays a major role in ensuring delivery of obligations in respect of data protection standards and it is positive that trust locally is being extended to our office as the regulator, by informing us when things have not gone to plan."

Pictured: The local ODPC is there to help anyone with GDPR queries. 

Mrs Martins went on to add that she and her team have been focusing on ensuring that the regulator’s powers are applied with both integrity and accountability.

"How we use our powers fundamentally affect the nature and quality of compliance so we want to ensure we do so with integrity and appropriate governance mechanisms embedded into everything we do. This means that we want relevant and timely information  published about the law and our activities, recognising that we are funded by the community and industries we are here to support."

The key focus for the ODPC over the next six months is on the so-called ‘transitional relief’ which is the one-year grace period allowed for nine areas that did not fully come into force on 25 May this year. This will allow local organisations time to fully prepare for these more complicated areas, including impact assessments and data portability.

Data portability means that all islanders, by May 2019 will be legally entitled to request an organisation that holds their personal data to transport it to another organisation.

Pictured top l to r: Office of the Data Protection Commissioner team - Tim Loveridge, Leanne Archer, Michael Appleqvist, Emma Martins, Rachel Masterton, Lesley Le Bailly, Lawrence West