Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1165935
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 SEPTEMBER 2019 YANNICK PACE A memorandum of under- standing between the Police Corps and Transport Malta is still to be discussed with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). Last week, Transport Min- ister Ian Borg and Home Af- fairs Minister Michael Farru- gia presided over the signing of an agreement intended to provide the police with access to the transport regulator's network of traffic cameras. Currently, the police need to request access to the system when this is necessary for an investigation. The agreement aims to grant the police access to the system without having to make a request, however, it is unclear what safeguards would have to be put in place to safeguard people's privacy rights, particularly in terms of recent data protection laws. "This office was informed about the memorandum of understanding signed be- tween the Police and Trans- port Malta from media reports," the IDPC told Mal- taToday. Asked whether the police's use of the system needed to be limited to certain types of investigations in order for the risks of processing peo- ple's personal data to be con- sidered proportional to the need for the police to do their work, and therefore justified, the IDPC declined to com- ment given that it was as yet unclear what the agreement would entail. "The Commissioner is cur- rently in the process of en- gaging with the public bod- ies concerned to establish all the necessary facts about this MoU, and ensure that any processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with data protection require- ments," the IDPC said. The applicable law will de- pend on exactly what person- al data is processed, and how: while the General Data Pro- tection Regulation (GDPR) generally governs personal da- ta processing there is a specif- ic EU directive – EU Directive 2016/680 – that deals with the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the preven- tion, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties. The latter piece of legislation attempts to balance data privacy rights with competent authorities' obligations to fight crime. Both sets of regulations im- pose a vast number of obliga- tions on entities that process personal data – whether on their own behalf, or on behalf of a third party – so as to en- sure that the right to privacy is respected and safeguarded. One such obligation is that of conducting a data protection impact assessment – an exer- cise to establish what effects a certain activity would have on the rights and freedoms of citizens. According to Directive 2016/680, "A data protection impact assessment should be carried out by the controller where the processing opera- tions are likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of data subjects by virtue of their nature, scope or purposes, which should in- clude, in particular, the meas- ures, safeguards and mecha- nisms envisaged to ensure the protection of personal data and to demonstrate compli- ance with the law". Transport Malta did not re- ply to questions about wheth- er such an assessment had been carried out at the time of going to print. While Mal- taToday also sent questions to the police about whether they had considered their data pro- tection obligations in terms of law when entering into the agreement, the police referred this newspaper to the "data controller, namely Transport Malta, as they are the system owners". A police spokesper- son said that the police would only be "attaining access with their approval in line with es- tablished legislation". There was no reply when it was pointed out that accord- ing to the subsidiary legisla- tion, any entity that processes personal data, be it a control- ler or a processor, needs to provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures in such a manner that the processing meets the requirements of the directive, and to ensure the protection of the rights of the data sub- ject. NEWS EMBRYO PROTECTION AUTHORITY The Embryo Protection Authority is seeking to recruit an Assistant Director to complement its existing team. Assistant Director Jobsplus Permit No: 317/2018 Contract: • Definite – 3 years. Applicants eligible for this post must be in possession of: • A recognized Bachelors qualification (BSc); • Due Consideration will be given to those who have studies related to the Infertility field; • Candidates should have a good leadership spirit and good Communication Skills; • Candidates must Not have less than 5 years relevant work experience of which one (1) year must be in a Management position; Interested persons are to submit their applications together with detailed Curriculum Vitae and the names of two referees by not later than Friday 27 th September 2019, at noon. Applications should be addressed to: The Executive Director Embryo Protection Authority Room 7, Entitlement Block, St Luke's Hospital, G'Mangia For additional information and job description please contact 25951650 Applications may also be submitted via email at: info.epa@gov.mt Police use of traffic cameras still to be discussed with Data Protection Commissioner Commissioner has yet to establish 'necessary facts' about agreement to share traffic camera data with police, and ensure personal data processing is carried out within the law Last week, Transport Minister Ian Borg and Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia (pictured) presided over the signing of an agreement intended to provide the police with access to the transport regulator's network of traffic cameras.