Data Protection Bill to be tabled in Parliament after public consultations

The government intends to lay the Data Protection Bill 2023 in the National Assembly after it engages key stakeholders.

It is currently conducting consultations with several stakeholder organisations following which recommendations will be taken on board to enhance the legislation.

The bill will help to regulate the collection, storage, processing, use and dissemination of personal data, all in a private manner.

It will consider an individual’s right to privacy and will aid in aligning Guyana with the international best practices on data protection and privacy.

The data will be in a ‘relevant filing system’ format and the processing activities will relate to the offering of goods or services to data subjects in Guyana and the monitoring of their behaviour.

Penalties attached to the bill are strict, going as high as $100 million in fines, and five years imprisonment.

The Attorney General’s Chambers earlier this month said that a draft copy of the bill will be made available to relevant national stakeholders for their recommendations to be made.

Further, the Single Electronic Identification System is expected to revolutionise how business is done in Guyana and eliminate the need for certain documents.

With data security a priority of the administration, the contract for this system was single-sourced to prevent breaches in social security.

The draft Data Protection Bill can be accessed on the legal affairs ministry’s website, www.mola.gov.gy, and the respective parties have 21 days to submit their recommendations.

The bill is in keeping with the government’s mandate to ensure transparency and inclusivity within the legislative framework.