MINSK, 2 April (BelTA) – The bill on personal data protection passed second reading at the session of the seventh-convocation House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on 2 April, BelTA has learned.
The bill was submitted to the House of Representatives by the Council of Ministers and passed its first reading on 13 June 2019.
The draft law on personal data is the first regulatory act in Belarus that comprehensively regulates the handling of personal data. The bill is designed to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens in the collection, processing, dissemination or provision of their personal data.
“The bill entered parliament in 2018. It is needed first and foremost to protect the legitimate interests of our citizens from leaks of their personal and private data. We need to protect our citizens, civil servants, and journalists from the recent increase in personal data breaches,” said Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Security Igor Martynov.
The bill provides for the protection of such data, as well as for the setting up of an authorized body, which will collect and accumulate all personal data. “Today, people provide their personal data whatever they use. I was always curious: why do I have to provide my first and last name, patronymic, date of birth, marital status, place of registration, passport data and so on. In order to get a discount card it is enough to provide your phone number to receive notifications in case you agree on them. Today, people do not hesitate to give out their personal information. The question is that it all must be accumulated, collected into a single whole,” the MP said.
The bill provides for the Council of Ministers together with the Operative Analytical Center under the President to determine the order of developing such an authorized body within three months. It also provides for liability for the dissemination of personal data.
