The per­sonal data of residents in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom must be better pro­tected quickly. Possibilities include fines for violations of privacy legislation, better supervision and more knowl­edge about the subject. This is what privacy law attor­ney Friederike van der Jagt stated in her contribution to a round table discussion in the Dutch Second Chamber of Parliament on the subject.

The dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 was not used to modernise legislation for the protection of personal data, Van der Jagt wrote. The National Or­dinances on the Protection of Personal Data in Curacao and St. Maarten and the Na­tional Ordinance on Person­al Registration in Aruba are based on the former Dutch Personal Data Protection Act. The same applies to the Personal Data Protection Act for Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba (so-called BES Islands).

The Commission for the Supervision of Personal Data Protection for the BES Is­lands CBP BES has a small budget and cannot issue fines. Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten are struggling to organise supervision.

“This means that data sub­jects in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are offered a lower level of data protec­tion. At the same time, per­sonal data is being exchanged on a large scale within the Kingdom,” according to the lawyer.

Van der Jagt is aware of consultations that Curacao, Aruba, St. Maarten and the Netherlands have been conducting for some time about mutual coordination of privacy legislation. The countries want to record the agreements in a Kingdom Act, but that is taking too long.

She therefore advocated a higher budget for the CBP BES, including an option to issue fines. This year, the commission received a relatively small contribution of less than US $500,000 from The Hague. The organisa­tion should also receive more support from the Dutch Data Protection Authority, argued Van der Jagt.

Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten must be supported. “With respect for the auton­omy of these countries, it is important that the Nether­lands considers how it can, if desired, provide support in further shaping supervi­sion and increasing privacy awareness on the islands. It is necessary to take steps now,” she added.

The Second Chamber’s Committee for Digital Af­fairs will speak with experts about data protection next week. This information will be used in the debate on the Data Protection Omnibus Act.

With this law, government wants to modernise and clarify a number of rules, for example, in which situations the sharing and registration of personal data is allowed.

The Daily Herald.