Workshop 1: The right to data protection in the digital age
5 November 2020
The Council of Europe and the African Network of Data Protection Authorities are delighted to co-organise a series of workshops to help raise awareness and enable discussion and consideration of topical issues across represented countries. The workshops will provide a unique opportunity to not only learn and share knowledge but also to strengthen relationships between African data protection authorities.
Today’s event is the first of six workshops and covers the theme ‘the right to data protection in the digital age’. Given the growth in digital connectivity and services in Africa, this is an extremely timely and important topic. The workshop is fortunate to have three key speakers to share their insights on their topics of expertise.
Council of Europe experts
Patrick Walshe
A senior data protection and privacy professional with global knowledge and experience. Over 20 years experience of providing strategic and pragmatic advice in the UK, European Union and other regions from a policy and compliance perspective.
Represented the telecommunications industry to policy makers, governments and standards bodies on issues such as EU and other national data protection and privacy regulation; the retention of communications data; mandatory registration of SIM cards; mobile application privacy; interception of communications; law enforcement access to communications data. Implemented compliance programmes in various organisations.
Established an industry working group to address key mobile privacy challenges. Key author of mobile industry privacy principles, mobile app privacy design guidelines and associated accountability framework.
Previously on the Advisory Board of the Future of Privacy Forum, the International Advisory Board of the Adaptive Security and Privacy (ASAP) research programme http://www9.open.ac.uk/ASAP/ and the Data for Development External Ethic Panel of mobile operator Orange in Africa, and was a member of the UN Global Pulse Privacy Advisory Group on big data.
Specialties:
- Data Protection and privacy in the UK, Europe and globally
- Interception of Communications law and practice
- Telecommunications data retention law and practice
- Mobile application privacy
- Law Enforcement access to communications data
Sylvia Appiah
An experienced data protection & cyber security professional with over 25 years working experience (gained mainly in the UK and more recently in Africa) in various disciplines ranging from Business Administration, GRC, Cyber Security, Data Protection & Privacy, Training & Coaching, Privacy Management, System Development & Implementation. Holds an MSc in Cyber Security and Management from the University of Warwick and certified to IAPP CIPP/E, Certified Data Protection Supervisor (Ghana) and Certified Information Security Implementor and Auditor (ISO27001).
Currently the CEO and Lead Data Protection Consultant of Information Governance Solutions (IGS). Delivers training to Certified Data Protection Supervisors (Practitioners) in as an accredited institution by the Protection Commission – Ghana. Currently working with a number of organisations & Clients in Ghana on privacy compliance programmes to best practice standard, especially the Data Protection Act 2012, Ghana and GDPR and aligned best practice with Convention 108+. Delivered bespoke training in South Africa on vendor risk management and in line with POPI Act. Presenter and Panel member on Data Protection Masterclass in Uganda in 2019
Designed and delivered the Data Protection and Compliance Management & Registration (Regys) system for the Data Protection Commission (Ghana) Under the E-Transform project, Ministry of Communication
Speakers
Joseph A. Cannataci, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy
Challenges for privacy and data protection: past, present and future”
Joe Cannataci was appointed as the first ever UN Special Rapporteur on Privacy in 2015, following the Snowden revelations about mass surveillance. His UN mandate was renewed in 2018 until July 2021. He is head of the Department of Information Policy & Governance at the Faculty of Media & Knowledge Sciences of the University of Malta. He also co-founded and continues as Co-director (on a part-time basis), of STeP, the Security, Technology & e-Privacy Research Group at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, where he is Full Professor, holding the Chair of European Information Policy & Technology Law . A Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS) and UK Chartered Information Technology Professional (CITP), his law background meets his techie side as a Full Professor (adjunct) at the Security Research Institute & School of Computer and Security Science, Edith Cowan University Australia, as well as a Senior Fellow and Associate Researcher at the CNAM Security-Defense-Intelligence Department in Paris, France. His past roles include Vice-Chairman/Chairman of Council of Europe’s (CoE) Commmittee of Experts on Data Protection 1992-1998, Working Parties on: Data Protection and New technologies (1995-2000); Data Protection & Insurance (1994-1998); CoE Rapporteur on Data Protection and Police (1993; 2010; 2012); CoE Expert Consultant on Data Protection and Cybercrime (2012-2014); UNESCO Expert Consultant on Privacy & Transparency on the Internet (2015); Scientific Co-ordinator of multiple EU FP7 & H2020 research projects focussing on privacy. He has designed and led several EU-supported research projects, both as PI and overall scientific co-ordinator, since 1986. Of these more than ten projects were awarded in the SEC (security) research area since 2010 and have included CONSENT, SMART, RESPECT, MAPPING, CARISMAND, SIPP, INGRESS and JP-COOPS. He. He was decorated by the Republic of France as Officier de l'Ordre de Palmes Academiques (2002). His latest books include The Individual and Privacy (Routledge UK March 2015), Privacy, Free Expression & Transparency (UNESCO co-editor 2016-2017) and Handling and Exchanging Electronic Evidence across Europe (co-ed. Springer 2018), “Essential Codes – International & European Data Protection Law” Gert Vermeulen & Willem Debeuckelaere (eds.) co-edited by: Joe Cannataci, Jean-Philippe Walter, Sophie Kwasny, Giovanni Buttarelli, Wojciech Wiewiórowski, Bruno Gencarelli, Mario Oetheimer (Larcier, 2018); Changing Communities, Changing Policing, Jeanne-Pia Mifsud Bonnici & Joseph A. Cannataci (eds)., (NWV, Austria, 2018). Legal Challenges of Big Data, Joe Cannataci, Valeria Falce & Oreste Pollicino (eds.) (Edward Elgar UK 2020).
Yves Poullet, Professor Emeritus, UNamur
"AI and Data Protection: some of the challenges ahead”
IA is not only a buzzword. It is transforming the way by which administrations and companies are developing their relationships with people. By collecting data from everywhere, notably through IoT, Data controller are exploiting big data through IA systems for profiling people, predicting their behaviours, or selecting the good customers or employees.
The characteristics of AI explain both its interest for administrations and its dangers for our freedoms: the opacity of the operation of machine learning systems, the complexity of their operation and the number of actors involved, the reduction of the number of people to 'his' data, possible manipulation and possible stigma.
Faced with this reality, we will study the way in which our data protection laws make it possible to regulate these systems but also the gaps presented by the current texts. A few questions in particular will be studied: the new information needs of the people concerned; their rights in the event of a decision taken against them on the basis of an AI system and finally, the precautions required when setting up such systems
Faiza Seidu-Adam, GirlyTech NGO
Empowering the young generations for digital leadership”
These on line workshops are co-organised with the