The Jamaica Observer published an article on December 16, 2020, about the reduction of conditions for NIDS Bill. Here’s a summary:
- A revised version of the National Identification and Registration Act (NIDS Bill) was tabled by the Government. The Bill addressed a critical issue which was the decision to be reviewed by a joint select committee (JSC) drawn from both Houses of the legislature.
- After the 2017 NIDS Act act was rejected by the Supreme Court, the Government has taken steps to develop a new Bill in compliance with the court’s ruling.
- The Bill will serve as the legal basis for the establishment of a robust, efficient, and effective national identification system underpinned by a legal and regulatory framework that supports safe, secure, and reliable verification of identity.
- The new policy provides voluntary participation and will be a convenient means of identifying citizens and individuals in the country ordinarily.
- The Bill allows a robust and coherent legislative framework to treat with the collection, processing, usage, storage and protection of personal data.
- Provisions for the protocols, procedures and systems for identify verification, monitoring and compliance will be made. Several principles guided the policy revision including the voluntary participation and only biometric and biographic data necessary to be provided.
- These will ensure the efficacy of the process while regarding the need to establish a secure system for individuals to use in the conduct of their daily lives.
Source: jamaicaobserver.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.