MINSK, 22 October (BelTA) - An authorized body will be set up in Belarus to protect personal data, Andrei Pavlyuchenko, the Head of the Operations and Analysis Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus, told the media following the meeting with the head of state, BelTA has learned.
At the meeting, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that in May 2021 a law was adopted to protect people's rights while processing their personal data. “The government and the Operations and Analysis Center believe that a separate authority should be set up to supervise the observance of this law,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. He stressed that the issues of personal data protection are important for the society and urged to solve the problems in this area. "People are concerned about this," the head of state stated.
Andrei Pavlyuchenko informed the president about the results of the preparatory analysis and suggested the options in this regard, including taking into account international practice.
“The law on personal data protection comes into force on 15 November, and the president supported the initiative of the Operations and Analysis Center to set up an authorized government body to be directly responsible for these issues. In our opinion, it is a step forward. In today's world, protection of any information is the cornerstone of public safety. This does not mean, however, that we will solve all the relevant problems tomorrow,” Andrei Pavlyuchenko said.
The new body will be called as the national personal data protection center. It will be responsible, among other things, for lawmaking in the area, raising awareness about the importance of personal data protection.
“This body will operate autonomously and independently and will cooperate freely with public and private entities. It will monitor the circulation of personal data, its legality, and compliance with rules and regulations,” said Andrei Pavlyuchenko.
The national personal data protection center will be authorized to hold violators of the legislation accountable.
