The year 2015 and the following years promise many challenges in the field of personal data protection. This is primarily related to the rapidly changing reality and the increasing role of the virtual world in our daily lives. Consequently, personal data is currently being collected on an unprecedented scale – its volume has doubled in the last two years! The question is how the new Polish DPA will cope with these new challenges?
The Inspector General for Personal Data Protection (GIODO) supervises and ensures compliance of personal data processing with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act (i.e., Journal of Laws of 2014, item 1182, 1662). In addition, it issues administrative decisions, considers complaints regarding the implementation of personal data protection regulations, provides opinions on legal acts related to its activities, and maintains a register of personal data sets and, since January of this year, a register of information security administrators.
Following the departure of Wojciech Wiewiórowski, who took up the position of Deputy European Data Protection Supervisor, the new Polish DPA is Dr. Edyta Bielak-Jomaa, PhD in law.
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Dr. Edyta Bielak-Jomaa serves as the Head of Postgraduate Studies in Personal Data Protection at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Łódź and as the Head of the Personal Data Protection and Information Management Center. She is also the organizer of numerous scientific conferences, including those on medical data, data in the activities of churches and religious associations, data protection in the context of journalists' work, etc.
In her initial interviews, the new Data Protection Authority (DPA) emphasizes that one of the most significant changes in the field of personal data protection will be the entry into force of the new EU regulation, which on one hand will simplify procedures related to data protection, but on the other hand will significantly increase penalties for violations of the regulations. Edyta Bielak-Jomaa points out that the main intention is not to intimidate with sanctions, but to influence entrepreneurs preventively through noticeable penalties. The regulation may be adopted this year, and will then come into effect in 2017.
The new DPA also speaks about the necessity for Polish legislators to regulate phenomena and data that are becoming increasingly common due to technological advancements, such as biometric data, genetic data, biobanks, etc.
In her work, Edyta Bielak-Jomaa announces close cooperation with the Supreme Audit Office – primarily in the area of monitoring the acquisition and processing of billing data and the security of personal data in cyberspace – as well as with the Lewiatan Confederation, a business organization representing the interests of employers in Poland and the European Union.
Despite these announcements, there are concerns within the personal data protection community about whether the new DPA will be able to cope with the challenges ahead. The most frequently cited argument is her lack of practical experience. Are these concerns justified? Time and the first decisions will tell.
Today, as various types of data are collected and processed on an unprecedented scale, the protection of personal data and privacy is extremely important. This is highlighted by the actively operating Panoptykon Foundation in Poland, which warns that almost every one of our activities is monitored and recorded thanks to thousands of databases, surveillance cameras, mobile phones, and digital footprints left online. This is precisely why significant challenges and expectations are placed before the new DPA. As a company specializing in personal data protection and information security, we greatly hope that Edyta Bielak-Jomaa will meet all these expectations. We would also like her to actively engage in the work of adapting international legal regulations regarding personal data protection to contemporary realities. For our part, we keep our fingers crossed and wish her success!
