Global Privacy Assembly (GPA) is coming to Jersey

Global brands and some of the most high-profile organisations and names in international data protection and privacy regulation will arrive in Jersey next month as the roadmap for the future of privacy regulation is mapped out here in Jersey at the 46th ‘Global Privacy Assembly’.

Islanders and local businesses are invited to attend the event to network with hundreds of global delegates and join in thought-provoking privacy conversation supported by Gold sponsors Apple, the IAPP, Johnson & Johnson; Silver sponsors Microsoft Corporation, Meta, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC; Welcome Reception sponsor HP Inc and Gala Dinner sponsor TikTok UK. The unmissable week-long event, one of the largest and most prestigious in the global privacy calendar, will connect the efforts of more than 138 Data Protection Authorities worldwide to discuss major issues impacting upon privacy and data protection, and is being hosted by the Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner.

The conference will start with a Welcome Reception sponsored by HP Inc at Jersey Maritime Museum on Monday 28 October 2024 and continue with two full days of open sessions, open to all.

Industry Leading Panel Discussions

At the open sessions at the Royal Jersey Showground on Tuesday 29 October and Wednesday 30 October, attendees can take part in industry leading, robust sessions in varying formats such as panel discussions and catwalk debates focusing on the event theme ‘The Power of I’ and event theme pillars Individuals, Innovation, Information, Integrity, Independence, International, Intercultural and Indigenous.

Attendees will hear keynote speeches from Futurist Nikolas Badminton, Bestselling Author Douglas Kruger and Massimo Marelli, Head of the Data Protection Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

On day three of the conference attendees can join Bermuda Commissioner Alex White, with panellists John Edwards (UK Information Commissioner), Philippe Dufresne (Office of the Privacy Commissioner, Canada), Argentina Commissioner Beatriz Anchorena and Australia Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind for a panel discussion exploring ‘Accessible Privacy: Protecting the disabled, vulnerable and socially marginalised in a digitised world’.

Elsewhere, attendees can hear how regulators tackle the challenge of overlapping policy domains in a panel discussion from expert voices including J. Trevor Hughes, President and CEO of the IAPP and Professor Christopher Hodges OBE, Chair of the UK Government’s Regulatory Horizons Council.

Other industry leading panel discussions will attempt to understand the concept of harm in a digital age. ‘Defining Privacy Harms in a Modern World’ will be explored by experts including Finnish Information Commissioner and Chair of the European Data Protection Board Anu Talus, Emily Keaney, Deputy Commissioner, Regulatory Policy at the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, President of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership, Bojana Bellamy and Andy Phippen, Professor of Online Harms at Bournemouth University.

Attendees will also have the chance to hear from Dame Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science, University of Southampton and Non-Executive Director, Digital Jersey, at the panel discussion ‘Creating trust through Data Trusts’. This session will give Islanders the chance to hear more about how Jersey became the first jurisdiction to establish a legally constituted data trust and will be moderated by Rachel Harker, an independent consultant working with Digital Jersey on the local Data Trusts pilot.

Other sessions will see expert panellists including former Australia Privacy Commissioner Malcolm Crompton and Kenya Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait explore how indigenous communities develop their own data protection frameworks and assess the potential harms from an intercultural and indigenous perspective.

Plus the event fireside chats are not to be missed! In the first, Elizabeth Denham, former UK Information Commissioner and Chair-Designate of the Jersey Data Protection Authority, together with expert panellists Boniface de Champris, Teki Akuetteh, Julie Brill and Miriam Wimmer will explore the impact of AI and address questions such as ‘how do we change our mindset to deal with advanced analytics and what part do ethics play in adjusting that mindset?’.

Paul Vane, Information Commissioner for Jersey, commented: “My team and I are exceptionally proud to be bringing world leading experts in data protection and privacy to Jersey next month to help set the scene for the future of privacy regulation. The 46th Global Privacy Assembly is the coming together of global privacy minds, regulators, advocates, policy shapers, trailblazers, facilitators and entrepreneurs. To have attracted a speaker and sponsor line up of this calibre to the Island is fantastic and provides a significant opportunity to showcase Jersey.

“We hope local businesses will jump at the opportunity to join in the privacy conversation and network with attendees as together we explore the social, moral and commercial considerations of data privacy and focus on the delicate balance between the power of information and the need for global citizens to maintain control and dignity over their personal information. The conference open sessions will also be live streamed for virtual attendees so we’re looking forward to a truly global event, connecting Jersey with the world.”

The event’s open sessions will culminate with a gala dinner and Global Privacy Assembly awards ceremony at the Royal Jersey Showground on the Wednesday evening, open to all and hosted by official sponsor of the gala dinner TikTok UK, before the event concludes with a day and a half of closed sessions for members and observers of the Global Privacy Assembly only, at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Side sessions and social events will be taking place throughout the week.