Luigia Ingianni, Commissioner of the Employment Standards Office at the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, making a presentation.
DOHA: The Employment Standards Office (ESO) of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) announced yesterday the establishment of the Data Protection Directorate.
In line with the new European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), coming into force from tomorrow, the new Directorate is led by a Data Protection Officer certified by the European Centre for Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC) from Maastricht University and is responsible for implementing and enforcing QFC Data Protection Regulations, managing related disputes and applying EU GDPR standards.
The new GDPR is set to be the biggest shake-up to data privacy legislation in a generation and will apply to all organisations, including businesses established in the QFC or in Qatar processing personal data of individuals of any nationality who are based in the EU.
During the ESO Data Protection event held on May 21, Luigia Ingianni (pictured) , Commissioner of the Employment Standards Office at the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority, discussed the key changes GDPR will bring and the requirements for QFC firms dealing with personal data of individuals who are based in Europe.
Dr Oriane Barat-Ginies, legal advisor, cybersecurity and data privacy specialist, provided an overview on how cybersecurity plays a vital role in the protection of personal data.
Luigia Ingianni, Commissioner of the Employment Standards Office at the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority, said: “The establishment of the Data Protection Directorate as part of the Employment Standards Office before the EU GDPR comes into force is a big milestone, confirming QFC’s commitment to applying the highest standards to the data protection field.
“During the event we provided our firms with information, practical tools and documents to comply with both the QFC Data Protection legislations and the EU GDPR, avoiding the heavy sanctions provided in the latter. The next step will be the full alignment of our Data Protection Regulations, currently in line with the EU Directive 95/46/EC, with the EU GDPR.”
