The Catalan Parliament hosts the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the GDPR

The Parliament hosted today the event commemorating the tenth anniversary of the European General Data Protection Regulation, organized by the Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT). The event was opened by the First Secretary of the Bureau, Glòria Freixa.

During the event, titled “General Data Protection Regulation: 10 years, beyond regulatory compliance” and hosted by journalist Xantal Llavina, three round tables and a keynote speech were held. The sessions reviewed the ten years of the regulation, analyzed how it has been integrated into organizations, explored how innovation and technology have placed data protection at the center of safeguarding rights and freedoms, and outlined current and future challenges in data protection. The event concluded with remarks by the Director of the APDCAT, Meritxell Borràs.

Freixa thanked the organizers for choosing Parliament as the venue to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the regulation and stated that “Catalonia has passed with distinction” in implementing this regulation, which she described as an “international benchmark.” She also stressed the need for Catalonia to have greater powers in this field, “not only in the public sphere but also in the private sector,” and highlighted the importance of addressing the challenges posed by the emergence of artificial intelligence.

A programme focused on technology, innovation and data protection

Ignasi Beltran, Professor of Labour Law and Social Security and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, delivered the keynote speech titled “Technological inertia and the final frontier of privacy.”

The first round table, titled “What have we learned over these ten years?”, featured APDCAT experts: Xavier Urios, Head of the Legal Advisory Office; Fina Valls, Head of the Inspection and Technical Area; Albert Serra, Coordinator of Technology and Information Security; and Joana Marí, Data Protection Officer and Project Manager at the institution. The session was moderated by Ester Santiago, Data Protection Officer of Barcelona City Council.

The second round table, “Proactive accountability in the public sector”, included Mireia Bosch, Data Protection Officer at the Department of Justice and Democratic Quality; Maria José Campo, Director of the Data Protection Officer’s Office at the TIC Salut i Social Foundation; and Sònia Oliveras, Data Protection Officer at Girona City Council. The discussion was moderated by Guillem López, Head of Institutional Relations and Organization at the APDCAT.

Maria José Campo, Director of the Data Protection Officer’s Office at the TIC Salut i Social Foundation, took part in a panel on proactive responsibilities in the public sector together with DPOs from the Departments of Justice and Democratic Quality and Girona City Council.

Finally, the third round table, “Risk-based approach: from theory to practice”, featured Esther García, Head of the Privacy and Artificial Intelligence Office at CaixaBank; Eduard Blasi, lawyer specialized in artificial intelligence and partner at Tech & Law Advocats; and Patricia Lozano, Data Protection Officer at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Source: parlament.cat