PICCASO Canada’s Post

We are thrilled to announce that Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, will be our keynote speaker at the inaugural PICCASO Awards Canada, to be held on June 11, 2024 at the Toronto Board of Trade. PICCASO Canada embraces Commissioner Dufresne's three pillar vision for privacy: that privacy is a fundamental right, that it supports the public interest and Canada’s innovation and competitiveness; and that privacy accelerates the trust that Canadians have in their institutions and in their participation as digital citizens. The PICCASO Awards contribute to that vision. The awards feature 15 categories spanning various sectors, including the public sector, not-for-profit organizations, academia and health privacy leadership. While the individual awards recognize rising stars, outstanding privacy lawyers, engineers, and thought leaders, the team accolades commend collaborative efforts and innovative initiatives in data protection.  Commissioner Dufresne encourages individuals and organizations to become involved with the Awards - "I am pleased to support this exciting initiative that highlights Canada's leadership in privacy and data security in all sectors of our economy. I encourage individuals and organization to submit a nomination and look forward to celebrating your success at the Awards in June." The deadline to submit nominations is April 7, 2024. For further information about the awards, including how to submit a nomination, go to piccasoawards.ca #PICCASOAwardsCanada24 #data #privacy #informatonsecurity #privacycommissioner #Canadianprivacy #collaboration #awards #nomination #nominate #privacymatters

I was delighted to have a conversation this Tuesday with Mr Chuen Hong Lew, the Chief Executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore at the Headquarters of the Future of Privacy Forum, and to share this experience with the vibrant privacy community of Washington DC coalesced by the energetic leaders of the IAPP - International Association of Privacy Professionals KnowledgeNet Chapter of Washington DC (with special kudos to Julian Flamant and Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, J.D., CIPP/US, CIPM). The IMDA is a unique regulator in the digital ecosystem, having competences and powers that fully incorporate, but go beyond data protection. The goal of the IMDA is to drive Singapore's digital transformation by building a vibrant digital economy and an inclusive digital society, but starting from the premise that data protection and the balance it strikes between being able to use personal data and protecting against harms that might occur to people and communities are a quintessential condition for achieving this. It was truly a privilege to be able to bring a broader perspective on digital regulation for the privacy community, and with such an extraordinary interlocutor! #GlobalPrivacy #Singapore #IMDA #Privacy #DataProtection #IAPPKnowledgeNet #FPFGlobal

Phewks! Last weekend of H1, am grateful. 🙏😌 It's been a busy last two months for me, privately and publicly, going through a couple of transitions professionally and personally. On the pro front, I've done much learning and teaching both virtually and in-person, staycay'd, got the bag, and made new friends. I spoke at the TEMS Africa ICT Exhibition, Conference and B2B Networking ICT Expo on operationalizing privacy compliance leveraging privacy tech, consolidating legal and organization advise offered by fellow speakers, with it's various systems and workflows in a unified platform to manage compliance work better. The East Africa Law Society (Official) was gracious to invite me to address their members on the interplay of technology and data protection, highlighting potential impacts, obstacles and opportunities. I delved into how tech is can be used to manage #privacycompliance; impressed upon, at a high level, the technical mechanisms that can preserve, enhance, support privacy in systems and services. Taking on a role of a Mentor in the University of Ilorin, Nigeria - PrivacyTech Expo, I advised and supported a team of four students drawn from law and computer science majors, in building their privacy solution, Mundus. Mundus is a simple browser extension that helps with privacy policy summarizarion and language translation. Am curious to hear the outcome of their recent pitch...stay tuned! Through and representing KICTANet, I facilitated a data protection workshop during the SECURITY CAMP FOR DIGITAL SECURITY TRAINERS IN KENYA hosted by the Defenders Coalition. Discussing some key areas of the Kenya DPA, organizational implementation of those, how to leverage tech while at it and person privacy, especially for human rights defenders. With aim of empowering the digital security trainers with vital knowledge to train their defender communities. 𝐏𝐬𝐬𝐭! 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 #𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊. I was asked by the deliver a data protection training to foster awareness, by the team at CapaBuil Ltd. I covered legal basics then deep-dived into operational outlook with a drop of privacy threat modelling considering privacy violations and harms. Last week, I was allowed to mentor some kids (teens, pre-teens) in the HACKATHON FOR DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD (DAC) run by Mtoto News and Microsoft. I am in the Privacy and Protection of Children's Information Online, solution area. Can't divulge the solution info, but these kids are smart and have useful ideas. Let's see what they come up with. With these, I wrap up this week and what has been interesting few months with a lot of serendipity, growth and meaningful changes. Onwards and upwards! #dataprivacy #dataprotection #privacycompliance #privacymanagement #privacyengineering #privacybydesign Privacy Innovation Lab

🌐 FTC's Global Privacy Cooperation Initiative: Fostering International Collaboration The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) taking part in the Global Cooperation Arrangement for Privacy Enforcement (Global CAPE) is a significant stride towards addressing global data security and privacy concerns. This nonbinding consortium aims to streamline information sharing and support privacy investigators on an international scale. 🌍 A Unified Effort for Data Security and Privacy Global CAPE, initially linked to APEC CBPR, has expanded its scope, welcoming countries beyond the Asia-Pacific region. By participating, the FTC eliminates the need for individual agreements, paving the way for more efficient cross-border investigations and real-time monitoring of global commerce. 🤝 Collaboration Beyond Borders The collaboration's comprehensive bylaws encompass various facets of privacy enforcement, including public opinion surveys, training programs, legislative updates, and more. This initiative reflects the collective commitment to address the evolving challenges of privacy and data security in an interconnected world. 🌟 Benefits of FTC's Participation The FTC's unanimous approval highlights the agency's dedication to international collaboration. This move promises improved intelligence sharing, enhanced coordination on cross-border investigations, and access to valuable resources from global partners. 🔐 Securing Privacy in the Digital Age As privacy and data security remain paramount in our digital landscape, initiatives like Global CAPE are pivotal in fostering a collective response. This initiative exemplifies the commitment to addressing evolving challenges through global cooperation. Kudos to the FTC for taking this important step towards a more interconnected and secure digital world. 🤝💻 #privacyprotection #datasecurity #globalcooperation #ftc #digitalprivacy #globalcollaboration #digitalworld #threatintelligence #crossbordercollaboration #securefuture #dataprotection

ON PRIVACY: I am pleased to announce that my paper “The Quest for Information Privacy in Africa: A Critique of the Makulilo-Yilma Debate” has been accepted by the African Journal of Privacy and Data Protection! I completed the paper in 2021, and since then, I have been refining it as I delve into the arguments and counter-arguments by two of the leading privacy scholars in Africa - Professors Alex Makulilo and Michael Yilma - on the origin of privacy in Africa. I termed this “the Makulilo-Yilma Debate”. In the paper, I highlight the fallacies contained in these scholars’ arguments about the origin of privacy in Africa. While Professor Makulilo argues that privacy was imported from the West, Professor Yilma argues that privacy was not imported, but he (Yilma) fails to provide proof(s). In this paper, I provide some proof that privacy was not imported to Africa. Scholars on privacy are invited to advance this interesting Debate. Preprint is available here https://lnkd.in/gnQxK5k8 Two people have been particularly helpful. First is Dr Muyiwa Adigun who gave a critical appraisal and made suggestions. The second is Daniel Olika who, after learning of this paper during one of our intellectual discourses, informed me of the call for paper by this journal. By the way, Daniel doesn’t hesitate to share opportunities with me and I run the ideas on most of my papers, even though he is a tax scholar, with him. I am available to engage with people on this topic!

SPEECH *** Today Wojciech Wiewiorowski, the EDPS, gave opening remarks at the Brussels Privacy Symposium: “Understanding the EU Data Strategy Architecture: Common Threads – Points of Junction – Incongruities" organised by the Future of Privacy Forum and the VUB Brussels Privacy Hub. "Trying to make sense of how all these new chapters in the EU’s Digital Rulebook will fit together is certainly a worthwhile endeavour. It is an exercise which we at EDPS have also been engaged with for some time now." said the Supervisor. [...] "One of the biggest challenges ahead for the EU’s Digital Rulebook, in my view, is going to be its enforcement and in particular ensuring regulatory consistency" he added. "The EDPS will remain vigilant. We need to ensure that the Data Protection standards that were fought for throughout many years will not be adversely impacted by the new rules. If we work together, I am confident we will be able to find ways to ensure that individuals can both reap the benefits of our increasingly Digital Economy and enjoy optimal protection of their Fundamental Rights" concluded the Supervisor. 👉 Read the speech here: https://europa.eu/!FJQTK3 #EDPS #DigitalRulebook #DigitalEconomy #FundamentalRights #DataProtection

Take 2 in #Brussels focusing on #digital #standards in #cybersecurity #trade #quantum #technology #ai #business and #politics: „The 11th Annual Transatlantic Digital Economy Conference“, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) under the #leadership of Susan Danger. The program is filled with knowledgeable and inspiring speakers from the #EU and the #USA, the #Europeanparliament and the #EuropeanCommission. #AiAct #TTC #collaboration #privatesector #connectivity #cyberdialogue #Hiroshimaprocess #trust #governance #privacy #confidence #digitalsolidarity #CyberResilienceAct Eva Maydell (Paunova) Miguel Valle del Olmo Francesca Rossi Juha Heikkilä Roberto Viola Rohan Singla Andreas Mitrakas Christiane Kirketerp de Viron Danielle Gilliam-Moore PILAR DEL CASTILLO Didier Reynders and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, U.S. Department of State, Jennifer Bachus.

Earlier today, FPF’s VP of Global Privacy, Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna spoke at Forum Europe’s #DataUSA23 on a panel titled, “Encouraging the interoperability of data governance systems globally to enable cross-border data flows,” with U.S. Department of Commerce’s Director, Data Privacy Framework, Alex Greenstein, Casentino Strategies’ Principal and Founder, Paula Bruening, Cloudflare’s Head of U.S. Public Policy, Zaid Zaid, and the IAPP - International Association of Privacy Professionals’s Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, J.D., CIPP/US, CIPM as moderator.  During the session, Dr. Gabriela Zanfir-Fortuna highlighted that:  ➡️ The landscape of cross-border data flows is multi-dimensional. Data is not only flowing unidirectionally from Europe to the U.S. Data flows are global, and so are the rules and restrictions recently adopted or updated by jurisdictions as varied as Brazil, South Korea, Nigeria or India.  ➡️ The mechanisms that allow for safeguards for the rights of people when personal data are transferred also go beyond “adequacy.” Standard contractual clauses, certification mechanisms and codes of conduct for transfers are increasingly recognized around the world in data protection frameworks and offer a dynamic landscape.  ➡️ The state of play is enriched by high level inter-governmental initiatives like Data Free Flow with Trust (#DFFT)led by the G7.

Starting on October 12, 2023, businesses in the UK can transfer personal data to U.S. organizations certified to the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, without the need for further safeguards. UK entities now have a structured mechanism for seamless data transfers that ensures the same level of data protection and privacy is maintained when data is relayed to certified U.S. organizations. By self-certifying now, U.S. organizations can demonstrate their commitment to data privacy and also gain a competitive edge, positioning themselves as trustworthy partners in the eyes of UK businesses. This is an excellent opportunity to elevate your organization's standing and foster stronger international collaborations. It's important to note that only those organizations certified to the EU-U.S. DPF can take advantage of the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF or the Swiss-U.S. DPF. If your organization needs help navigating the DPF program or the self-certification process, VeraSafe can help. #DataProtection #DataPrivacy #DataBridge #DataPrivacyFramework #UK #DPF

Yesterday, the U.S. celebrated National Data Privacy Day. But what does this mean for Indigenous data sovereignty? Our new blog post discusses National Data Privacy Day in light of historic (and enduring) violations of Native data protection, and how Native communities are restoring Indigenous data sovereignty. Read the new blog here: https://ow.ly/yrWx50QvCCT