Georgian Personal Data Protection Service to host 2025 European Conference of Data Protection Authorities

The Personal Data Protection Service of Georgia on Tuesday revealed it would host next year’s European Conference of Data Protection Authorities, a body monitoring protection of personal data and privacy.

The Conference will be hosted in the country’s Black Sea city of Batumi, the national body revealed. It added Lela Janashvili, the President of the Service, Otar Chakhunashvili, its First Deputy Head and Ana Tokhadze, the Head of the Department of International Relations, Analytics and Strategic Development, had featured at the 32nd European Spring Conference of the European institution in Riga, Latvia.

It is a great honour for the Personal Data Protection Supervisory Authority of Georgia to host one of the most important events in personal data protection across Europe. The European Conference forms a discussion platform that facilitates sharing of practical experience of European personal data protection supervisory authorities, discussing and debating current trends in personal data protection”, Janashvili said.

Janashvili also presented a report - Challenges of the Implementation Personal Data Protection Rules on the DPA Level - about new legal regulations of personal data protection, as well as the experience and current trends of international cooperation of the national supervisory body.

In the rapidly developing digital age, personal data protection authorities are developing institutionally and deepening international cooperation, which is very important for us today [...] given that Georgia has been granted the European Union membership candidate status. It should be noted that a new era of personal data protection has begun in our country”, she said.

The new law establishes internationally recognised standards of personal data protection, which is extremely important for the harmonisation of Georgia[n legislation] [...] in the process of integration with European legal culture, with European legislation”, Janashvili added.

The release added thematic panels of this year's Conference had discussed the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as matters including the role of supervisory bodies for personal data protection in the formation of legislation regulating the digital realm.

The Conference also involved discussions on privacy and personal data protection in the era of developing technology and innovations, protection of health-related data in the digital age, and other topics.