Government Continues Consultations on Data Protection Act

The Government continues its consultations with members of the business community regarding the Data Protection Act, to ensure its effectiveness.

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with direct oversight for Skills and Digital Transformation, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, was responding to questions from members of the Standing Finance Committee of the House, who are reviewing the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure, on March 5.

Senator Morris Dixon said as the Data Protection Act has great implications for several sectors, the ongoing dialogue with the business community is critical as Jamaica continues it digital transformation.

“Those consultations and discussions will continue, because the Data Protection Act is pretty fundamental to this digital transformation that we are doing and it’s important that we take the business sector along with us and keep getting feedback from them and implementing based on the feedback that we do get,” she said.

Passed in 2020, the Data Protection Act provides guidelines on how personal data should be handled in physical or electronic form.

It is poised to transform the way organisations manage personal data, including the collection, storage, utilisation, disclosure and disposal.

Entities, particularly those that process personal information on a daily basis, are required to implement measures to ensure the safety, security, and confidentiality of the data that they handle, and failure to do so could result in them facing harsh penalties, including hefty fines.

These entities include public authorities, financial and educational institutions, health and security service providers, processors of sensitive personal data, among others.

The Act became effective on December 1, 2023.