The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, participated in the gathering on the occasion of the opening of the Privacy Week, dedicated to the International Personal Data Protection Day, observed on January 28.

Emphasizing that privacy is not a privilege, but a right, the Commissioner said at the opening that the violation of the right to protection of personal data is very often associated with discrimination. She stated that this is very clearly seen in a large number of complaints from citizens, who, requesting protection from discrimination, state that their right to data protection has also been violated. The most common areas of discrimination related to the violation of the right to privacy are labor relations, employment, health care, while members of the most vulnerable groups are most often exposed to discrimination in such a way.

The pandemic era has raised new questions about balancing the need to protect the public interest and public health with the need to preserve privacy, which is why, the Commissioner said, we must take a step forward and determine what is missing in the existing system and practice, in order to improve the protection of the right to privacy.

The Privacy Week in Serbia was organized by Partners Serbia, Share Foundation, A11 – Initiative for Economic and Social Rights, Association “Let It Be Known” and Belgrade Open School.