Plus, how a 1981 treaty granted us the individual privacy rights that we benefit from today
For those of you not in the know, it is that time of the year again. On Thursday, January 28, we celebrate – or at least sheepishly acknowledge — Data Protection Day. This particular day on the calendar came to be back in 2007. What’s more, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Convention 108 as well as the 15th edition of Data Protection Day.
The history of Data Protection DayWhat’s Convention 108, you might ask? Convention 108 was a treaty that set out some of the first internationally agreed rules for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of their personal data. According to the Council of Europe’s website: “For 40 years, Convention 108 has influenced and shaped the protection of privacy and of data protection in Europe and beyond.” In other words, many of the privacy rights that we enjoy today stem from the signing of this influential agreement back in 1981.
The event is also known as “Data Privacy Day” in the US and in other countries around the world, and the theme chosen by the US National Cybersecurity Alliance for this year’s event is about owning your privacy and respecting others. Somehow it seems fitting, given that we have been under lockdown for most of the past year.
At Avast, we try to celebrate the actual data protection and privacy efforts all year long, which is why I said “sheepish” above. Just to remind you, here are a few links to some of the blogs that we have posted:
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