KUALA LUMPUR – The Digital Ministry is set to table amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA) in the last week of the current parliamentary session in July.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said he will issue details to the amendment tomorrow, and brief MPs about it next week.
Gobind added that the ministry is proposing to table a Data Sharing Bill – which is still being drafted – by year end.
“We hope we can get it (table the Data Sharing Bill) done by the end of this year,” he told reporters while launching the new Macrokiosk office here today.
“It is important, because we want to ensure that we have a mechanism allowing you to share data. If you can share data, you can make better use of it.
“We need to make sure that a regulation is in place before that (data sharing) happens, and that there is security (in the process) – which is the reason why (we’re making) amendments to the PDPA, which will make it a lot stronger.”
Asked about the scale of the data sharing system, Gobind said the ministry is currently looking at government agencies, and hopes to expand it.
Earlier this year, Economy Ministry secretary-general Datuk Nor Azmie Diron said the Omnibus Act was expected to be enacted this year, allowing data sharing and cloud storage among government agencies.
For the PDPA amendments, Gobind previously said it involved seven new guidelines relating to personal data protection, noting a need to do so to protect cybersecurity and the people’s privacy.
The PDPA is an act aimed to regulate personal data processing in commercial transactions, as well as to provide for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto. – July 2, 2024