ADC represents Civil Society Forum at RIPD 20th Anniversary meeting
ADC’s executive director, Valeria Milanes, participated in the ceremony dedicated to the Ibero-American Data Protection Network (RIPD) on behalf of the Civil Society Forum (CSF). The event took place from September 25 to 27 in Antigua, Guatemala, and was organized by the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).
On Tuesday 26, Ms. Milanes spoke at the session titled “The Relevance of International Cooperation in Data Protection and Privacy in view of New Technologies and AI”.
Firstly, she pointed out the importance of considering the framework in which civil society is acting: “Once we expand beyond our own countries and authorities, and particularly related to the topic of data and privacy, we must adjust to the context of our activity, in this case, the Ibero-American States.” In addition, she considered the relationship with multiple stakeholders, or multistakeholderism, as vital, highlighting RIPD’s decision to reform its regulations and strengthen civil society participation in its activities in 2018.
After reviewing the CSF’s journey since its creation, establishing admission criteria, and giving itself action lines and an identity, Ms. Milanes referred to the Forum’s website and some of its productions, such as the three volumes of the Comparative Study of Data Protection Agencies launched this year. “A very useful guide for those interacting with such entities and need fast and ready information on how they function,” she said.
To close the meeting, our executive director underlined the expansion of the CSF and the recent addition of academic units. “We are enlarging the Forum as much as possible because the member organizations are those who provide the resources for its operation. This is a huge opportunity to continue promoting collaboration and mutual experiences. We are a sector that can make a substantive contribution,” she concluded.
Other speakers on the panel were Nelson Remolina Angarita, Lourdes Zamudio, Paula Vargas (META), and Pablo Segura (Mercado Libre), as well as Jessica Matus, founder of Datos Protegidos, who also represented the CSF.
On the closing day of the meeting, Wednesday, September 27, Ms. Milanes debated in the session titled “Challenges for the future of data protection”, with the attendance of Dr. Rafael Yuste, Beatriz de Anchorena, head of the Argentine Access to Public Information Agency – AAIP, Paula Vargas, Lourdes Zamudio and Guadalupe Ramírez, Commissioner of INFOEM.
Regarding the current and upcoming challenges faced by data protection, our spokesperson pointed out “their diversity and their multiple nuances and dimensions given the haste in technological advancement. Among others is the reinterpretation of concepts formulated in the laws coping with the effects of this development, such as the shift from an individual to a collective dimension of data protection. It is essential to establish a reciprocal relationship with other norms, such as those dealing with women, children, consumers, competition, health, education, work, and the impact that personal information has on democratic institutions.”
At the end of her presentation, Ms. Milanes said: “We work from civil society to ensure that all individuals have their data protected, but those of us working with particularly vulnerable sectors go further and intend to be promoters or even guarantors the data protection for people belonging to those groups.
