Organisations were urged to make proper preparations for new privacy laws as the introduction of the 2024 Road to Pipa was outlined in Parliament yesterday.

Vance Campbell, the Minister of the Cabinet Office, detailed the Personal Information Protection Act, which comes into force on January 1, 2025, aiming to transform the use of data on the island.

Mr Campbell encouraged Bermuda’s organisations to be prepared for the full enactment of the law and said information would be regularly updated on the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Bermuda website.

“Throughout the year, the Road to Pipa campaign will offer a weekly, step-by-step process for organisations to follow to meet the requirements of the Pipa,” Mr Campbell said.

“The implementation of Pipa will be a long and involved journey, but this journey will be worth it. It will help the jurisdiction, and particularly the Government, evolve its culture into one that advocates for and embeds privacy in its day-to-day operations and interactions.”

Mr Campbell said that throughout 2024, the Road to Pipa would provide tools, such as templates to organisations to help them to build privacy programmes, improve understanding of risks related to collecting and storing information and identify actions needed to retain competitive advantages in the global business arena.

He said it would also enhance training and development opportunities related to data privacy, cybersecurity and governance, and prepare organisations and individuals for the implementation of the Act.

Significant progress has been made on the Government’s own privacy programme, which was influenced by the Privacy Commission’s 2020 guidance and leverages the US National Institute of Standards and Technology Privacy Framework, Mr Campbell said.

There was an awareness campaign for the public service executive and department heads in addition to monthly training sessions and interactions with select ministries and departments.

Mr Campbell said: “These pilots are ongoing as each step of the plan is tested before roll out. We are piloting our Pipa Readiness Assessment step, a questionnaire with a series of questions against Pipa requirements that will be used for gap analysis. The intention is to roll it out across the Government shortly. ”

He said that in the coming week, he would submit a Road to Pipa intent statement on behalf of the Cabinet Office and invited other leaders of Bermuda organisations to do the same.

He added: “Adopting privacy-centric principles in our business operations is a critical factor in protecting personal information, preventing security breaches and maintaining customers' trust. Remember, we all have rights under Pipa and therefore we all want the implementation of Pipa to be a success.

“I urge my fellow Bermudians to seize this moment and again set an example for the world. Let us rise to the occasion of the full enactment of our country’s first privacy rights law and continue onwards in our eternal quest to forge a more fair and ethical economy and society.”