Data Protection Committee is strapped for cash

Dátueftirlitið, the Faroese Data Protection Committee, is being granted the same annual amount as in 2011 – DKK 2 million.

This is only enough for 2.8 full-time equivalents, which is far from enough, according to the committee’s annual report for 2017.

In 2010, the Faroes received third-country approval from the EU to process personal data across borders.

This approval has placed greater demands on Dátueftirlitið, which has repeatedly called on the Prime Minister’s Office to increase its appropriation.

The workload is expected to increase even further in the coming years. According to the annual report for 2017, the Prime Minister’s Office is preparing a new Personal Data Act. It will be based on the new Danish Personal Data Act, which follows EU regulations.

In 2017, Dátueftirlitið registered 217 new cases. Although this is a slightly lower figure than the previous year, the committee spent more resources on processing time-consuming cases in 2017. The committee received 118 oral enquiries in 2017, compared with 149 in 2016.

Dátueftirlitið also initiated a number of IT security cases in 2017 involving public institutions and private businesses.

Translated by prosa.fo