Loop Jamaica posted an article on February 21, 2021, about the possibility of Jamaicans being hesitant to sign up for NIDS due to the JAMCOVID data breach. Below are some key highlights.
- Opposition spokesman on science, technology and commerce, Hugh Graham is warning that the breach of the JAMCOVID-19 application, which may have exposed the personal data of thousands of travellers, will not inspire confidence in the Government’s much-touted National Identification System (NIDS).
- The Amber Group, which created the site, has insisted that the system is secure and has dismissed reports of a second breach of the application.
- The original legislation, passed in November 2018, was struck down as unconstitutional by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in April 2019 after certain aspects of the law were deemed to be in breach of the constitutional rights of Jamaicans.
- Justice Sykes said, after the sections of the legislation that were found to be in breach of the individual’s right to privacy as guaranteed by the constitution were removed, the justices were of the view that the remaining portions of the law could not stand.
- The Chief Justice posited that the collection of biometric information violated informational privacy since such information can reveal a number of things about individuals.
- Speaking to the new draft bill in the Parliament in early January, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said it provides for a robust and coherent legislative framework to treat with the collection, processing, storage, retention, usage, and protection of personal data; the protocols, procedures, and systems for identity verification, monitoring and compliance; and an independent oversight body.
- The Prime Minister stressed that participation of eligible persons in the system must be voluntary; the Supreme Court did argue that the mandatory requirement under the previous legislation that all Jamaicans register under the NIDS ran counter to the orderly running of a free and democratic society.
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