ODPA Data Protection Teabreak

Joining forces to put the Channel Islands on the global privacy map

Storytelling is one of the most effective ways of sharing knowledge and can be a powerful tool to inspire change. Project Bijou is the Office of the Data Protection Authority’s social initiative, which aims to harness the power of shared experiences and stories to promote ethical data use and engage people on a cultural level. In this Project Bijou podcast, Guernsey Data Protection Commissioner Brent Homan sits down with his counterpart, Jersey’s Information Commissioner Paul Vane, to discuss the shared opportunities and challenges of overseeing data protection and privacy legislation within smaller jurisdictions which are also global financial centres. They talk about how regulatory co-operation can help overcome technological challenges, promote compliance and amplify their ability to protect privacy rights in the Channel Islands.

Children in motion: tracking healthy habits safely

Alun Williams is the Be Active Education Lead at Guernsey’s Health Improvement Commission, a charity dedicated to empowering, enabling and encouraging healthy living in Guernsey and Alderney. In this Project Bijou guest podcast, Alun discusses working with the ODPA on a fitness tracker aimed at getting Bailiwick children moving and his long, distinguished career serving the Bailiwick.

The Bijou Lecture (2024)

For this year's Bijou Lecture join Dr Vicki Nash for an exploration of online safety issues for children. In this year’s lecture she shares her insights with the ODPA’s Data Protection Commissioner Brent Homan. They start off by discussing how keeping children safe in the digital era means striking a delicate balance between our parental urge to protect them and the importance of empowering them. They move on to explore the need for parents and children to openly share their experiences and knowledge with each other, and how education leaders play a critical role in empowering young people to be safer online. Moving to the role of regulation, they explore the implications of the Online Safety Act which was passed into UK law in October 2023. Finally, they take an imaginary trip to the year 2054, to imagine how today’s children will look back, as adults, on the actions (and inactions) of today’s tech giants, parents, and policymakers. ------ ⭐ What is the Bijou Lecture series? The ODPA launched its annual Bijou Lecture in 2022, as part of its outreach arm ‘Project Bijou’ which aims to encourage the sharing of stories, knowledge and experiences related to ethical data use, in a way that benefits everyone. You can access all lectures at: www.odpa.gg/project-bijou/the-bijou-lecture

How to keep children safe in the smartphone era

* WARNING: This podcast includes references to rape and sexual assault and the murder of Brianna Ghey. Details of support / advice are available here if you are affected by this: https://www.odpa.gg/help-and-advice/mental-health-support/* As most parents or carers will tell you, screen time is an ongoing battle. How much is too much? What are they looking at? Will they miss out on opportunities or friendships if you don't let young people have a smartphone? As the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s first ever digital safety development officer, Laura Simpson has at least some of the answers. She is passionate about educating and empowering children and young people to make safer choices when navigating the online world. Employed by Guernsey Police and based in the high-tech crime unit, Laura is only too familiar with the harms that can arise when people's personal information is shared inappropriately. Laura tells Katherine Levy about her role, how it intersects with personal data and what we can all do to help educate children and young people about digital literacy.

The Canadian, the Pug, the Bear and the Bailiwick

In the first data protection tea break of 2024 we meet the Bailiwick’s new Data Protection Commissioner Brent Homan. Previously the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Canada Brent has led a number of high profile investigations into areas such as facial recognition, location tracking and behavioural advertising to name just a few. He has also been involved in a number of global privacy initiatives. Kirsty Bougourd chats to Brent about his plans to build on the existing work of the Office of the Data Protection Authority through a 3 pillars strategy of balance, trust and partnership. He talks about what the regulated community can expect from the ODPA and his plans to continue to engage and support the islands’ population. Brent discusses the global aspect of work relating to data protection and how living in smaller jurisdictions can magnify the risks. They also discuss continuing to develop activities and resources to support young people and to educate parents and their children about how new technology uses their data and can both enhance their lives but also potentially cause harm. In particular Brent highlights the ongoing work developing a Children’s Framework to help set guidelines on the use of young people’s data in the Bailiwick and the need for people to take part in the survey to produce something fit for purpose. Kirsty and Brent also chat about the big move and how him and his family are all settling in and embracing island life.