The MEF organised a briefing session on Data Protection at the MEF Management School in Ebene on Tuesday 26 January 2010. The session was highly informative and attended by more than 200 participants. The objective of the session was to explain the implications for enterprises of the Data Protection Act 2004 that came into force in February 2009. It was led by Mrs Drudeisha Madhub, Data Protection Commissioner at the Data Protection Office, operating under the aegis of the Prime Minister's Office.

The Data Protection Act is a legal framework for the protection of privacy rights of individuals and provides for any individual or organisation that processes information relating to living individuals, for example employees, customers, suppliers, etc, to adhere to the universal data protection principles and the obligations set out in the Act. Individuals or organisations that handle personal data are required to register as Data Controllers with the Data Protection Office.  The closing date for registration is Friday 26 February 2010. Failure to do so shall represent an offence.

 During her presentation, Mrs Madhub elaborated on the:

·        right to privacy and data protection as a fundamental human right

·        universal data protection principles

·        concepts of personal data, sensitive data and data processing

·        obligations of the data controller and the process of registration for data controllers

·        minimum security and organisational requirements

·        offences and penalties in case of violation of the provisions of the law

 We are enclosing a copy of her presentation. Download

It was an interactive session during which participants were able to put their queries to the Data Protection Commissioner on numerous practical and technical aspects related to the implementation of the law.

 Further information about the Data Protection Act 2004 can be obtained from the website of the Data Protection Office at http://dataprotection.gov.mu.