Joint statement of the BfDI and the ICO on the 70th Meeting of the Berlin Group
Date 2022.11.30
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), together with the Chair of the Berlin Group, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI), hosted the 70th meeting of the International Working Group on Data Protection in Technology (IWGDPT), also known as “Berlin Group”, in London between 29-30 November 2022.
Over 35 colleagues from across data protection authorities, civil society and other international organisations attended the meeting, where they welcomed two guest speakers – Paul Nemitz (European Commission) and Carly Kind (Ada Lovelace Institute), who discussed the Ada Lovelace Institute’s report ‘Rethinking data and rebalancing digital power’ and the wider work of the Ada Lovelace Institute.
The meeting was a great success with productive discussions that led to the adoption of two topical papers focusing on Smart Cities and Facial Recognition. The Group also discussed future topical papers, and it was agreed that the Group would take forward the topic of ‘Central Bank Digital Currencies’ and further develop a working draft paper on ‘Telemetry’.
Professor Ulrich Kelber, German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, stated: I want to thank the ICO for their hospitality and flawless organisation of the Berlin Group’s second meeting in 2022. With this event, we have successfully restarted our work and can once again focus on future technologies and their possible impact on privacy. Therefore I am looking forward to the results of the ‘future foresight’-project which will give us more insight into those technologies.
John Edwards, UK Information Commissioner, said: It was a pleasure for the ICO to host the Berlin Group’s landmark 70th meeting in London, and to present the ICO’s work on emerging technologies to the Group. Emerging technologies such as AI and biometrics require forward thinking and careful consideration to ensure that regulators are prepared for what the future holds. Our work into emerging technologies aims to identify critical technologies and innovation that may have a privacy impact in the near future.
The Berlin Group also welcomed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy (UNSRP), Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères, who delivered a short presentation on her work. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères to future meetings of the Berlin Group.
The next meeting of the Berlin Group is scheduled for June 2023 in Rome, Italy.