Wheatley: Full Data Protection Act enforcement soon

Five years after the Data Protection Act was passed, its enforcement provisions have yet to be fully activated. However, Dr Andrew Wheatley, minister without portfolio with responsibility for science, technology and special projects, says this is now being addressed.

The act, passed in 2020, is regarded as a key piece of legislation, establishing the framework for how personal data in Jamaica is collected, used and protected.

Speaking during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate at Gordon House on Tuesday, Wheatley acknowledged that the law remains only partially implemented.

He noted that the act also led to the creation of the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), the country’s data protection regulator.

“It is a law we should be proud of. But Madam/Mr Speaker, I am going to be direct with this House. Five years after the Data Protection Act was passed, the enforcement provisions have still not been fully activated — the very provisions designed to hold data controllers accountable and protect every Jamaican whose personal information is collected and processed. We have the law. What we have not yet done is fully enforced it.”

Explaining the delay, Wheatley said the OIC had been established with an interim organisational structure that was inadequate to carry out its full mandate.

“Functional areas unprovided for, staffing below the required level, and key officers without the specialised technical training that compliance oversight demands. The OIC has worked with what it has, building the framework and running a growing public awareness programme. But awareness without enforcement is not regulation. It is education.”

The minister said the Government has now approved the full budget requested by the OIC for the current financial year, enabling the office to begin long-delayed restructuring.

In addition, a Data Protection Working Group within the OIC has been formally constituted. This, he said, allows for the integration of technical expertise, legal knowledge and operational capacity needed to guide the restructuring process and accelerate the transition to full enforcement.

“That work is under way now,” Wheatley said.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com