This article was published in 2019. Laws, case law and regulatory guidance may have changed since then. Contact us for up to date advice.
In the coming years, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) will place extra emphasis in its supervisory work on three focus areas: data trading, digital government, and artificial intelligence and algorithms. The AP announced this today with its vision document ‘Data protection in a digital society’ (PDF).
The AP sees three major trends that affect the protection of personal data:
- Continued growth of the data society
- Increase in digital injustice
- Increase in privacy awareness.
Following on from the trends it has identified, the AP has chosen three focus areas:
- Data tradingData make products and services smarter, and these products and services in turn generate more data. This has advantages, but also disadvantages: more and more unauthorised resale of personal data to third parties is taking place. As a result, people are increasingly losing control over their data and thus over their lives.
- Digital governmentCentral and local government, implementing organisations, and the police and judiciary hold a large amount of personal data, often sensitive and special category data. The government is working purposefully on the use of personal data. It is important that the government handles personal data responsibly, so that people do not get into difficulties unnecessarily.
- AI and algorithmsMore and more companies and organisations are using algorithms and AI. This offers advantages and leads to new, useful applications. But the use of AI and algorithms also entails risks and harmful effects. Irresponsible use of algorithms can lead to incorrect decisions, to the exclusion of people and to discrimination. As regulator, the AP is responsible for supervising the processing of personal data, and therefore also the application of AI and algorithms in which personal data are used.
What does this mean for your organisation?
Do you use algorithms and AI applications for your business processes, and do you also process personal data? Then you may fall under one of the regulator’s three focus areas. Request a Privacy Quickscan today and find out whether your organisation complies with the strict privacy rules.