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Sarajevo, (Fena) – The director of the Personal Data Protection Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragoljub Reljić, said at a press conference, on the occasion of International Data Protection Day, that personal data protection has become an important issue in recent years.
He added that there are many reasons for this, and he mentioned two – one is the process of digitalization, and the other is the process of artificial intelligence.
– Now with digitalization, you can be the subject of actions and violations of protection and intrusions into personal data from any point on this planet. The importance of personal data protection has become so great – stated Reljić.
He noted that last year the Council of Europe Convention on Artificial Intelligence and the European Union Regulation on Artificial Intelligence were adopted.
– These are two acts with which we will have to harmonize our law and legal system in the coming period. Our legal system, or rather our law that regulates this area, is from 2006 – said Reljić.
For this reason, it was necessary to start the process of drafting a new law.
He stated that this is one of the laws that is very important on the European path, but that it is even more important to him that with this law “we raise the level of protection of personal data of our citizens, or of all persons whose data are processed in BiH”.
– That is, in my opinion, very important – said Reljić, and mentioned some of the innovations in the Draft Law on Personal Data Protection, which is currently in parliamentary procedure.
– The principle of transparency is introduced. Based on this principle of transparency, we will have an obligation, all our data controllers will have an obligation to have privacy policies and cookie policies, where you will be able to see just by clicking on a certain page whether someone respects this law. In this case, the inspectors of the agency will not even have to come to someone, it is enough just to visit the website to see if there is a privacy policy, i.e., an adequate cookie policy – explained Reljić.
He stated that the security of processing is also regulated in the new law.
– We have what is called technical integrated data protection. Here, the right to object to the controller is especially emphasized. In addition to the Agency, where you could only have filed a complaint so far, you will have the possibility to be thoroughly informed and to file a complaint to the controller – explained Reljić.
He also stated that the right to be forgotten, the so-called right to erasure, is introduced, which he said is “a significant right”.
– When you go to internet pages and enter a name, some information from 20 years ago that has never been deleted appears, although the purpose of processing has long since ceased, the reason why some data processing is carried out. Furthermore, it is mandatory to have a representative from these companies that process data via the internet and use our data, for example, Google, Meta, Amazon, they will now have to have a representative for BiH – said Reljić.
One of the novelties is that the penal policy is significantly tightened. Reljić also stated that the law gives the Agency new and big powers.
– The Personal Data Protection Agency, under this law, truly becomes an independent supervisory authority as it is in Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Austria, gaining significant powers. At the same time, I appeal that it is necessary to support the Agency in the implementation of this law – said Reljić. (30.01.)