On January 28th, we observe Data Privacy Day to raise awareness about the importance of protecting personal information. But why this date?
It marks the signing of Convention 108 on January 28, 1981. This was the first legally binding international treaty focused on safeguarding individuals’ personal data and privacy rights. Initiated by the Council of Europe, Convention 108 set a global precedent for modern privacy laws, inspiring frameworks like the GDPR.
Convention 108, formally known as the “Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data,”. It was updated in 2018 as Convention 108+.
In 1981, following four years of negotiations, the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, also known as Convention 108, was adopted. The parties to this Convention are required
- to take the necessary actions within their national laws to enforce the principles outlined,
- ensuring the protection of personal data for all individuals within their territory.
- These principles primarily address the fair and lawful collection, automatic processing, and storage of data for specified legitimate purposes,
- ensuring it is not used for purposes incompatible with these objectives or kept longer than necessary.
In 2006, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to establish 28 January as Data Protection Day. This day is now observed globally, known as “Privacy Day” outside of Europe.
For over 40 years, Convention 108 has played a key role in advancing privacy and data protection, both in Europe and beyond. Its updated version, Convention 108+, responds to the growing challenges of an increasingly digital world, aiming to create a framework for the free flow of data while safeguarding human dignity. As a result, Convention 108+ serves as a unique and universal instrument for legal harmonization and convergence, ensuring that individuals are recognized as active subjects rather than mere objects of algorithmic analysis, control, and surveillance.
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