In the field of data protection, the last week of January is traditionally marked by a series of events dedicated to raising awareness of rights regarding the protection pf privacy and personal information. Centred around Data Privacy Day on 28th of January, the CNPD will take this opportunity to participate in two conferences and launch a new informational campaign.
Red Cross Symposium on Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
The first event is the Symposium on Cybersecurity and Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross and took place from the 23rd to the 25th of January in Luxembourg-City.
Like for the first edition of the Symposium in 2022, the conference brought together stakeholders from humanitarian organisations, governments, data protection authorities, cybersecurity agencies, the private sector, civil society, and academia.
The objective was to examine several legal, policy and technical challenges raised by the raised by the digitalisation of humanitarian action. Tine A. Larsen, Chair of the CNPD, held a speech at the Symposium while representatives of the data protection authority took part in working sessions and discussions on this relevant topic.
Annual Data Privacy Day by Restena and the University of Luxembourg on artificial intelligence
The second conference is entitled “Data Privacy Day”; it is an annual event organised by the Restena Foundation and the University of Luxembourg in the context of the Data Protection Day.
On 29th of January, Marc Lemmer, CNPD Commissioner, and Maxime Dufour, legal expert at the CNPD, will hold a presentation on “AI & Protection of personal data: how GDPR regulates AI and how AI challenges GDPR”. They will delve into the challenges of artificial intelligence regarding personal data protection in the age of AI industrialisation, showing the potential conflict between the nature of AI technology and existing GDPR principles, obligations, and rights.
“Your data? Your rights!” campaign
In the context of the Data Protection Day, the CNPD is also announcing the launch of a new sensibilisation campaign. Entitled “Your data? Your rights!”, the campaign will explain the rights citizens have when it comes to the protection of the personal data, starting with their right to be informed. Via informational material such as video and an easy-to-understand leaflet, the general public will be able to understand how and why they have the right to know how their personal information is collected and used by businesses and other organisations. It will be the first instalment in a series of publications clarifying individuals’ data protection rights in a clear and easily accessible manner.
The origins of Data Protection Day
In 2006, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to designate the 28th of January as Data Protection Day. This day is now celebrated worldwide, under the name "Privacy Day" outside Europe. It marks the anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data on 28th January 1981.
The aim of Data Protection Day is to raise awareness of the challenges of data protection and privacy and to inform people about their rights and how they can exercise them. It addresses the ever-increasing challenges of an increasingly globalised and digitalised world to build a space for the free transfer of data while preserving the human right to privacy and data protection.