Vexed Bermoothes

The Cayman Island’s legislature approved a public access to information law last year, following a detailed public consultation on the draft law.

Premier Ewart Brown promised earlier this week that PATI would happen in Bermuda but said putting it in place was a “laborious” task. [Cayman Islands Government Leader] Mr. Tibbetts said his country found the law no harder or more time-consuming to draft than any other.

Bermuda’s civil service has been working on a PATI project for more than 5 years. But let’s be honest: our leaders haven’t had the political will to move it forward.

The PATI briefing spoke at length about Government’s commitment to privacy laws (otherwise known as data protection). These effort also seem to have fallen by the wayside and should be revived as well.

 

The Ministry of Telecommunications & E-Commerce has been working with the private sector to develop data protection legislation that would protect the personal information of individuals … As Government is the single largest depository of personal information in Bermuda, it is extremely important for Government to have in place procedures to protect personal information. Additionally, due to Bermuda’s small size, an individual’s personal information can easily travel through informal and inappropriate networks. Through data protection legislation, the Government intends to protect the personal information of individuals.