Commissioner Milan Marinović and Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković participated in the Seventh Meeting of the Competent Authorities Dealing with Personal Data Protection in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, which was held in Ptuj, Slovenia, this year.

At this year's meeting, participants discussed current issues of personal data protection in the region, and specific topics covered included the harmonization of national laws with the EU data protection framework and their modernization, the implementation of data protection strategies, the identification of data leaks using modern platforms, the interrelationship between data protection and artificial intelligence, biometric identification cameras in public spaces, as well as the challenges that data protection authorities face when working with new technologies with limited resources.

Data protection authorities highlighted the importance of such cooperation, which encourages the exchange of best practices and experiences and enables the creation of synergies in the field of personal data protection. Intensive cooperation is of even greater importance in times of rapid technological development, including artificial intelligence, where the protection of human rights can be seriously jeopardized if the competent regulators do not provide an adequate response. Тo ensure a timely and adequate response to new technological challenges, the members of the 20i7 Initiative emphasized the need for data protection authorities to be adequately staffed and politically, financially, and factually independent. Any political or other pressure that jeopardizes their independence should be considered unacceptable, as it poses a threat to the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner held a series of bilateral meetings with colleagues from the region.