2024-05-21

The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia will host the European Conference of Data Protection Authorities

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The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia will host the European Conference of Data Protection Authorities.

On May 13-16, President of the Personal Data Protection Service Prof. Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili presented The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia as the host authority of the next European conference at the 32^nd European conference of Data Protection Supervisory Authority in Riga.

“It’s a great honor for the Personal Data Protection Supervisory Authority of Georgia to host one of the most important events in the field of Personal Data Protection across Europe. The European conference establishes a discussion platform, which facilitates the sharing of practical experience of European Personal Data Protection Supervisory Authorities, the review and discussion of current trends in the field of Personal Data Protection. Therefore, we are glad to create a pleasant working environment for the participants of the European conference and host you in one of the most beautiful city of the Black Sea region in Batumi.” said Prof. Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili.

On the 32^nd European Conference of Data Protection Supervisory Authorities, the Personal Data Protection Service was presented as an accredited member of the conference, also the First Deputy President of the Personal Data Protection Service, Dr. Otar Chakhunashvili and the Head of the Department of International Relations, Analyticis and Strategic Development - Ana Tokhadze.

The thematic panels of this year's conference were dedicated to discussing the practice of the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") and the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") on such topical issues as The role of personal data protection supervisory authorities in the formation of legislation regulating the digital sphere; Privacy and personal data protection in the era of developing technologies and innovations; Protection of health-related data in the digital era; and others.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili presented a report on one of the panels of the conference's closed session, which focused on the experiences of cooperation between data protection supervisory authorities, on the topic of "Challenges of implementation of personal data protection rules at the level of DPAs". The report was about the new legal regulation of personal data protection, as well as the experience and current trends of international cooperation of the Personal Data Protection Supervisory Authority of Georgia.

"In the rapid development of the digital era, data protection authorities continue to develop their institutions and strengthen international cooperation, which is particularly important for us today, given the fact that Georgia has the status of a candidate country for the European Union. The new Georgian Law "On Personal Data Protection" establishes internationally recognised standards for the protection of personal data and is an important step towards harmonisation with European legislation. From the perspective of the Georgian legal framework, this marks the beginning of a new era of personal data protection in our country. The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia is actively involved in international platforms, conferences and working groups, which helps us to better study the modern trends of personal data protection law in order to improve the strategic policy of our activities in order to protect European values," said Prof. Dr. Dr. Lela Janashvili. The panel was followed by a discussion on thematic issues.

According to the decision taken on the basis of the consensus of the members of the Steering Group of the European Conference of Data Protection Supervisory Authorities, the Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia coordinates the working group and represents its chairing authority from 2023. During the last panel of the closed session of the conference, the representative of the agency, Ana Tokhadze, presented the annual report, the chairman of the working group. The report summarised the activities carried out by the Conference Working Group during the year, the thematic discussions and the action plan of activities to be carried out in the future.