The IPC joins regulators from around the world at the 2024 Global Privacy Assembly

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) joined data protection and privacy authorities from more than 130 countries at the 46th Global Privacy Assembly (GPA) to address universal data-related challenges facing all of us around the world. 

Held in the Bailiwick of Jersey, Channel Islands, the theme of the 2024 meeting was the power of information. Regulators explored how to respect and balance the power of information with the need for citizens to have power, control, and dignity over their personal information. 

Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, led a panel discussion on Education from the Ground Up: The Societal Impact of Privacy Education. Panel participants included Baroness Beeban Kidron, Member of the UK House of Lords; Bertrand du Marais, Commissioner of the Commission Nationale de l’informatique et des Libertés (France); Joyce Lai, Assistant Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong; Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director, 5Rights Foundation; and Matthew Johnson, Director of Education, MediaSmarts.

The discussion emphasized practical steps regulators and other interested parties can take to help educate, engage and empower young people to protect their digital privacy rights and encourage responsible digital citizenship. 

Commissioner Kosseim also participated in a Capacity Building Session on Priority Setting, highlighting the IPC’s strategic plan and the importance of setting strategic priorities to better focus the IPC’s energies and resources on key access and privacy areas where we are likely to have greatest positive impact.

The assembly passed resolutions on key issues such as neurotechnology, data free flow with trust, certification mechanisms, and the rules and procedures of the GPA.

You can read the resolutions on the GPA website.