Study visit to Ireland on opportunities and challenges in application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), personal data protection and cybercrime investigations

Representatives of institutions from the Republic of Serbia (Commissioner for information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection, Serbian Government`s Office for Information Technologies and e-Government, and Serbian Ministry of Interior) had the opportunity, during a study visit, to their colleagues in the Republic of Ireland, to learn more about standards and best practices in the field of artificial intelligence, personal data protection and cybercrime investigations. During the four-day study visit, organized with the support of the "Strengthening Rule of Law in Serbia" project, jointly financed by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ), implemented by GIZ, representatives of Serbian institutions got acquainted with the work of the Office of the Chief Information Officer of the Irish Government, development and implementation of the Irish AI (Artificial Intelligence) strategy, ethical use of AI in government, AI in justice, international cyber security policy and international law in cyberspace.

The team of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data headed by Commissioner Milan Marinovic, and his colleagues had peer exchange with Data Protection Commissioner of the Republic of Ireland, Dr Dan Hogan, and Deputy Commissioners, David Murphy and Kettel Ryan. Special focus was placed on the Commission's oversight of the largest multinational companies with representations in Ireland, the role of the Commission in relation to the EU`s Artificial Intelligence Act the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Commission's relationship with the judiciary, legal nature of the penalties imposed for personal data infringements, etc.

The Serbian Data Protection Commissioner, Milan Marinovic, and his colleagues had peer exchange with Data Protection Commissioner of the Republic of Ireland, Dr Dan Hogan, and Deputy Commissioners, David Murphy and Kettel Ryan, to discuss the Commission's oversight of the largest multinational companies with representations in Ireland, the role of the Commission in relation to the EU`s Artificial Intelligence Act the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),  the Commission's relationship with the judiciary, legal nature of the penalties imposed for personal data infringements, etc. The meetings were very meaningful and extremely useful for gaining experience, planning future activities and improving the work of the Commissioner's Office in the future. In very meaningful discussions with representatives of selected state bodies of the Republic of Ireland, the members of the delegation from Serbia were introduced to their organization and functioning. Of particular importance for the institution of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Protection of Personal Data of the Republic of Serbia were meetings with representatives of the Commission for Data Protection, where my colleagues and I were introduced to the way in which the Commission supervises the largest multinational companies with representative offices in Ireland (META, X, OPEN AI, APPLE, TIK TOK...), the role of the Commission in relation to the Law on Artificial Intelligence, the mutual relationship of the Commission with the courts, the legal nature of the sanctions imposed for the violation of personal data and other current topics from areas of personal data protection“, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Milan Marinović stated.

Serbian law enforcement officials (Service for Combating Cybercrime, Anti-Corruption Unit, National Criminal Forensic Center) met with Irish colleagues from the Police Cybercrime Bureau (Guarda) and the teaching staff of the University of Dublin's Computer Forensic Program and Cybercrime Research Program to exchange views and best practices on cybercrime investigations, biometric data processing, the application of Irish Guidelines for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Lawyers, the security aspects of artificial intelligence and the use of artificial intelligence to detect money laundering, ransomware, generative artificial intelligence and its illegal use, crypto scams, etc. 

The visit was organized as part of the project “Strengthening Rule of Law in Serbia”, jointly financed by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – EU FOR FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION AND FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS – and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.