Jamaica’s Data Protection Act standards

Jamaica Gleaner published an article on August 12, 2020, about Understanding Data Protection Standards. Here’s a summary:

The sixth data protection standard is “Personal data shall be processed following the rights of data subjects under” from Section 29 of the 2020 Data Protection Act which means that data controllers need to process personal data to line up with rights conferred on data subjects under the legislation.

A person will be classified as contravening this standard if they:

1. Fail to supply information in response to a request from an individual.
2. Process personal data for direct marketing purposes without obtaining consent.
3. Fail to comply with the notice issued by an individual requiring the data controller not to process personal data
4. Fail to comply with notices issued by individuals concerning automated decision making.

The seventh standard

• The seventh standard demands appropriate technical and organizational measures are to be taken against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to personal data.
• It also imposes a duty on data controllers ensuring that the Information Commissioner is notified of any breach of the data controller’s security measures affecting any personal data. The data controller shall also take reasonable steps ensuring its agents and employee comply with the security measures.

The eighth standard

• The eighth standard is that personal data should not be transferred to a state or territory outside of Jamaica unless that State or territory ensures an adequate level of protection for the rights of data subjects in the data processing.
• This greatly benefits business operators who conduct some of data processing overseas as outsourcing to foreign entities or offices are located overseas.

Source: jamaica-gleaner.com

Contributed by Racquel Bailey from Jamaica. Racquel is a member of our Women in InfoSec Caribbean (WISC) initiative on Discord. WISC is a non-profit initiative supporting Caribbean women and girls to develop a career in Information Security. Learn more about WISC at wiscaribbean.org.