A critical briefing held by the Jersey Chamber of Commerce this week has highlighted concerns across the business community that GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is not being fully supported by government.
Described as a game-changer in how companies will have to manage data when the new legislation comes into force in May 2018, the Chamber said every business in the island must be fully briefed on the implications for them.
Changes include punitive fines for non-compliance of correctly gathering, storing and using data, both physical and electronic.
However, with only 14 months until GDPR becomes law, the Chamber is concerned that the island’s Data Information Commissioner is not being given enough support by government to deal with the legislation.
Eliot Lincoln, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Chair of its Digital Committee, said: “GDPR is a very important piece of legislation. Any business of any size which holds data about individuals will be subject to GDPR legislation.
“With adequate support from government, this law shouldn’t be something businesses worry about. However, with just 14 months until GDPR is implemented, it has become evident from our critical briefing that businesses need help preparing for this change in data handling. The size of the current Data Information Commissioner team, of five employees, simply isn’t adequate.”
• The Chamber of Commerce will be repeating this initial GDPR critical briefing event on Thursday 4 May, with events throughout the year and into 2018, when greater detail of the legislation is released.