Personal Data Protection Day: Further improvement of legislature needed, due to the increasing vulnerability of personal data

Citizens' personal data are increasingly endangered due to digitalization and advances in technology, which is why it is necessary to regularly harmonize laws and regulations in this area. This message resonated strongly at the conference dedicated to marking the Day of Personal Data Protection. The evolving and complex digital landscape demands continuous efforts to ensure that our legal frameworks stay ahead of the challenges posed by the digital era.

Emphasizing the importance of raising awareness and improving the capacity of personal data protection, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Mr. Milan Marinovic said that trustees and similar institutions around the world must work together and help citizens with data protection, "that are more vulnerable today than ever". "A man about whom everything is known is more exposed than someone who walks without clothes in one of the busiest cities," Mr. Marinovic illustrated. The conference highlighted another jubilee: the Office of the Commissioner was established 20 years ago - in 2004 - the same as Facebook, which corresponded with the emergence of social networks that generally led to large-scale data processing of billions of citizens of the world, which is why regulations were needed.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Ms. Plamena Halacheva called citizens' data "the oil" of the digital world and stressed that the rules in the field of data protection must be considered when passing any law, citing the example of the Law on Internal Affairs in Serbia, whose adoption has been repeatedly postponed. She added that citizens leave numerous "digital footprints", which threatens their digital security, stating that the most challenges arise due to the use of new technologies, biometrics, and artificial intelligence. "The way and approach to artificial intelligence will define what kind of future we will live in," Ms. Halacheva said.

This year, for the first time, recognitions were awarded for a special contribution to the protection of personal data in the Republic of Serbia. Special recognition for the support of the project "Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Republic of Serbia", jointly funded by the EU and Germany, in raising awareness of the importance of the topic of personal data protection, support through the exchange of knowledge with EU experts in the use of biometric data and video surveillance, and organization of conferences, was awarded to GIZ Serbia, which implemented project activities. Commissioner Mr. Milan Marinovic conferred the award to the Director of GIZ Serbia, Ms. Daniela Funke, and in addition to GIZ, special recognitions were also awarded to USAID, the OSCE Mission to Serbia, the Faculty of Security of the University of Belgrade, and the Propulsion agency.