International Day for the Protection of Personal Data (28/01)

Every year on January 28, starting in 2007, International Data Protection Day is celebrated. This holiday was established so that netizens do not forget about following the rules of behavior on the Internet, which help protect their virtual and real lives.

In some countries, this holiday is called «Data Privacy Day, and the decision to celebrate it was made on April 26, 2006 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. This date corresponds to the anniversary of the signing of the Council of Europe Convention of January 28, 1981 «On the protection of persons in connection with the automated processing of personal data».

This Convention became the first international binding instrument in the field of personal data protection, which defined mechanisms for protecting a person’s rights to privacy, and also provided a definition of the concept of «personal data».

Personal data — is any information about an individual, including his last name, first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, residential address, marital and social status, data on income, education, health and profession. Before the advent of the Internet and electronic databases, this information was stored on paper in archives at various levels. Therefore, the likelihood of unauthorized access to it was low. But in the digital age, crimes such as theft of passwords and personal data of users, sale of computer databases, etc. have appeared.

The basic principles of processing and protection of personal data proposed by the said Convention were the good faith and legality of receiving and processing personal data; storing personal data for certain and legitimate purposes and not using them in a way incompatible with these purposes.

The protection of personal data must be carried out using appropriate security measures, which makes accidental or unauthorized destruction or accidental loss impossible, and also prevents unauthorized access, modification and dissemination of personal data.

In connection with the rapid development of the information and telecommunications sphere, with the introduction of new technologies, the spread of innovative, globalization and integration processes, the Convention has become the basis for the further development of regulation in the field of personal data protection.

The international community had concluded that the Convention should remain a simple, concise and technologically neutral instrument, while at the same time recognizing the new characteristics of modern and future technologies.

The Convention became the basis for the further development of regulation in the field of personal data protection (Photo: wk1003mike, licensed by Shutterstock.com)

The main directions for improving EU legislation in the field of personal data protection are facilitating access to one’s own personal data, increasing the level of responsibility of owners and managers of personal data databases, reducing risks when distributing personal data via the Internet, and granting greater administrative powers to authorities on issues of personal data protection.

The Convention is currently being drafted and amended by working groups to reflect the new dangers posed by technological development and the needs of today.

On International Government Day itself, parliaments, national data protection authorities and other participants are holding events aimed at raising awareness of the rights to the protection of personal data and privacy. Activities may include information campaigns aimed at the general public, educational projects for teachers and pupils, open days in personal data protection organisations, and conferences.



Postcard «January 28 — International Day for the Protection of Personal Data»

1430