SEZ Business Operators Urged to Register as Data Controllers

Business operators in Jamaica’s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are being urged to register as data controllers in an effort to mitigate risks and increase investor interest.

Under the Data Protection Act, persons who hold, receive, use, collect or deal with personally identifiable information of any individual are considered data controllers, and must register with the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC).

Chief Privacy Officer and Managing Director of United Consulting International Limited, Najuequa Barnes, outlined that SEZs share various categories of data related to employees, customers, suppliers and partners, trade and intellectual property, finance, health and logistics.

“As SEZs, it doesn’t matter what type of business you’re in. You are processing vast amounts of personal and sensitive data that need to be securely protected. Data controllers should ensure that systems are in place to protect information on behalf of the data subjects, whose information the company would have collected and without which they would not have a business to operate,” Ms. Barnes said.

She was addressing Thursday’s (September 19) Business Acceleration Centre (BAC) Accelerator Series at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

Chief Privacy Officer and Managing Director of United Consulting International Limited, Najuequa Barnes, addresses participants attending Thursday’s (September 19) Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA) Business Acceleration Centre (BAC) Accelerator Series at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston.

The BAC Accelerator Programme, hosted by the Jamaica Special Economic Zone Authority (JSEZA), aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and insights to enhance business operations within the SEZ regime.

Ms. Barnes explained that data privacy and protection are important to SEZs, as it boosts regulatory compliance, business reputation and trust, risk mitigation, operational continuity, customer confidence, financial protection, competitive advantage, innovation and international trade facilitation.

“If you are looking for an investor, the investor is going to do their due diligence and look for companies that actually have best practices in place, and companies that have data privacy as a core part of their governance structure,” she further shared.

Meanwhile, Ms. Barnes advised that there are serious risks for non-compliance, which include fines and penalties, and reputational damage and operational disruption.

Data controllers who do not comply with the Act’s requirements may be subject to imprisonment or a fine not exceeding four per cent of their annual revenue.

“You have to think about the cost of implementing a sound data privacy framework versus the risk of non-compliance and the implications and consequences,” Ms. Barnes underscored.

For information, business operators in the SEZs may contact the Office of the Information Commissioner at 876-920-4390/876-929-8568 or info@oic.gov.jm.

Source: JIS