The Data Protection Commissioner joins the other data protection authorities in Europe to celebrate Data Protection Day for the first time tomorrow. This day coincides with the opening for signature of Convention 108 of the Council of Europe, entitled Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, which took place in Strasbourg in 1981. This will be an occasion for European Citizens to be made more aware of their right to privacy in terms of the protection of personal data.

In a resolution issued by the Article 29 Working Party – the forum for the data protection authorities in Europe – for this occasion, it was explained that in a time of omnipresent data processing, this initiative offers an excellent occasion to show and understand how necessary privacy protection is in a democratic society. And the authorities have agreed to cooperate in the future with the Council of Europe to make this Data Protection Day a success and to show that fundamental rights are best defended by data protection authorities.

In this awareness, citizens will reflect on their rights to privacy, what personal data is collected and processed about them, why such data is being collected and processed and what their rights with respect to this processing are. Data protection issues are central in citizens’ lives – at work, in the health field, when they browse the internet, when they buy goods or services, etc.

In Malta, the Data Protection – Act Chapter 440 of the Laws of Malta, is relatively new and has been effectively in force since July 2003. The office of the Data Protection Commissioner, set up under this act, aims at protecting the individual’s right to privacy by ensuring the correct processing of personal data. In addition, it also aims at creating a society in which individuals feel confident that the right to privacy of their personal data is safeguarded.

The Data Protection Commissioner regularly meets representatives of the various operational sectors to discuss and agree on principles emanating from the act as they apply to the particular relevant sectors and articulate the applicability in the form of guidelines or codes of practice.

Among such sectors where guidelines were drafted, one can mention education, insurance and banking. Other guidelines regarding the journalistic and security sector are also in the process of being drafted.

The office of the Data Protection Commissioner offers its assistance, in the first instance, to the citizens who wish to clarify matters and who think that their rights are not being respected, and in the second instance to data controllers to help them reach a high level of data protection, both aspects being very important in a democratic society.

For further information on this office, visit the website: www.dataprotecion.gov.mt or phone on tel.: 2328-7100.