The Jamaica Gleaner published an article on July 14thth, 2020 titled Prepare for Jamaica Data Protection Act or Face Consequences authored by Carolyn Bell-Wisdom.
Many believe that Jamaica’s coming Data Protection Act is necessary for the nation to compete in the digital market. The Data Protection Act is important because it provides guidance and best practices for organizations to follow on how to use personal data.
Key points:
- Businesses are being advised to review the Data Protection Act to be prepared to apply the necessary measures to ensure compliance. They would have adequate time as the legislation currently offers a grace period for public awareness of the Act.
- The penalty for non-compliance could result in up to 10 years in prison and fines up to four percent of the company’s annual gross worldwide turnover. The law will apply to regulated businesses, small and medium-sized businesses, and large companies that do not currently face significant regulatory scrutiny.
- Given the broad term ‘Personal Data’, it applies to businesses that collect video surveillance records as well as any other form of data that can be used to identify a person that a business collects. This urges all businesses and organizations to prepare to ensure readiness when the Act is implemented.
- A few considerations for organizations to prepare is to know what personal data they store and/or process, what they will do in the event of a data breach, and what are their areas of weakness.
Reference: jamaica-gleaner.com
Contributed by: Jason Jacobs from Guyana. Jason is a member of the CCST Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about CCST (Caribbean Cyber Support Team) by visiting caribbeancst.org. CCST is a collaborative group on the Discord platform for Caribbean people in IT, from beginners to experts.