Estonia | IOI Workshop on Human Rights in the Digital Age

From 23 to 24 January 2018 many Ombudsman and their staff gathered in Tallinn to expand their knowledge about the modern digital world, and to discuss the balance between security and privacy. In his opening speech IOI President Peter Tyndall addressed the role of the Ombudsman in our technology driven society stating that those not yet digitally connected should not be left behind.

Many timely questions were debated such as the implications of the right not to be forgotten, data protection and the importance of parliamentary oversight. The topic of digitalization was also viewed from various angles and input from practitioners from different sectors was given. Academics, Government officials, IT-entrepreneurs, web-constables from the Estonian police, and Ombudsman exchanged their ideas in an open forum.

“The individual has to be at the centre, and not technology”, concluded Ülle Madise and further stated that Ombudsman should keep a close eye on protecting privacy rights.

This workshop marked the first in a series of events to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the International Ombudsman Institute.