MAURITIUS, Africa – Canada has rallied Commonwealth privacy regulators in establishing a new network that aims to share experiences, knowledge and expertise around data protection and privacy, plus promote cross-border cooperation.
The Common Thread Network, as it will be known, is being co-ordinated by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and was originally proposed by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
"Our aim is to leverage the strengths available within the Commonwealth to support each other, in keeping with the spirit of the Commonwealth”, said Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien, in a statement. “We will continue as a grouping of willing and committed partners pursuing similar goals, which ultimately leads to better socio-economic outcomes and social norms which treat data and privacy with the care and dignity it deserves."
The announcement was made from the 36th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners which took place this week in Mauritius.
International data protection authorities also endorsed a Global Cross Border Enforcement Cooperation Arrangement to foster more coordinated approaches to addressing cross-border privacy issues. The Arrangement sets out ground rules for the sharing of confidential information related to enforcement work, allowing, for example, several data protection authorities to work together to respond to a major data breach. Prior to this, data protection authorities have had to draft bilateral or multilateral memoranda of understanding on an ad hoc basis.
"In a global world, a single issue can negatively impact the privacy rights of huge numbers of people in many countries," added Commissioner Therrien. "The Arrangement addresses an urgent need for data protection authorities to work together to address cross-border privacy violations."
