2nd Edition of the Webinar on “Privacy and Data Protection in the Era of Emerging and Future Technologies“
Tunis, October 23, 2024 – The Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO) held a workshop on “Privacy and Data Protection in the Era of Emerging and Future Technologies”. The workshop lasted for three hours via Zoom, and witnessed the wide participation of more than 63 participants from experts and specialists in cybersecurity and data protection from various Arab countries, including the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Tunisia, the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Republic of Sudan, the Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Palestine, the State of Qatar, the Lebanese Republic, the State of Libya, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and the Republic of Yemen, in addition to the League of Arab States.
This webinar is part of AICTO’s ongoing program on Cybersecurity and Digital Trust, designed to address the increasing challenges posed by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain. These technologies demand the development of new regulatory frameworks and policies to safeguard data and ensure the protection of individual rights.
H.E. Eng. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director General of AICTO, delivered the opening remarks, welcoming participants and expressing his gratitude for their engagement on such a crucial issue. He emphasized AICTO’s commitment to promoting the principles of privacy and data protection, which are essential to creating a secure and sustainable digital future for the Arab region.
Key addresses were also delivered by H.E. Dr. Khaled Wali, Director of the Department of Communications and Information Technology Development at the League of Arab States, and H.E. Dr. Mohamed Saleh Ben Aissa, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the League of Arab States Center in Tunisia. Both speakers emphasized the critical need for regional collaboration in addressing the shared challenges of data protection and cybersecurity across the Arab world.
The first session, titled “Overview of Personal Data Protection in the Arab Region: Reality – Challenges and Prospects,” featured a keynote address by Mr. Chaouki Gaddas, the international expert and former head of Tunisia’s National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data. Mr. Gaddas provided an in-depth analysis of the current state of personal data protection in the region and presented findings from AICTO’s study, “Protection of Personal Data in the Arab States in Light of International Standards.” A dialogue session followed, with H.E. Mr. Samir Bourehil, President of Algeria’s National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data, who discussed Algeria’s experience and the challenges it faces in implementing its personal data protection system.
Subsequent speakers included Ms. Suzanne El-Aqabawi, Advisor to the ICT Minister for Data Governance in Egypt, who shared insights on Egypt’s data protection initiatives, and Eng. Tawfiq Abu Bakr, Director of the Personal Data Protection Directorate at Jordan’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, discussed Jordan’s progress in this domain.
The second session, titled “The Impact of Emerging and Future Technologies on Privacy, Data Protection, and Global Best Practices,” explored how technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain, and CI/CD pipelines are influencing privacy and data protection. Within this context, Dr. Mohamed Hamdi, International Cybersecurity Expert at AICTO, delivered a presentation on the use of symmetric encryption for data protection, while Dr. Bilal El Hefnawy, a member of the Board of Commissioners at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, presented on generative AI and its privacy implications, sparking lively discussions on the ethical and legal aspects of these new technologies.
Closing Session
The webinar concluded with a review of the key takeaways and final remarks, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration among Arab countries to ensure a secure and trustworthy digital environment. Participants reiterated the importance of developing shared policies and strategies to meet the evolving challenges of data protection in a rapidly advancing technological landscape.