Presentation of the 2015 Data Protection by Design Award

The Catalan Data Protection Authority (APDCAT) has celebrated the presentation of the third edition of the Data Protection by Design Award. This prize is intended to highlight the best initiatives produced in Catalonia that make responsible use of the new technologies in the field of personal data.

The awards were presented at a function held at the Parliament of Catalonia and chaired by the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Núria de Gispert, in the framework of the conference entitled: How to guarantee citizens’ privacy in Smart City technologies.

The jury of the 2015 Data Protection by  Design Award decided to award this year’s prize to the company EMERCOM TECH for their platform for the management of emergencies, the development of which involved particular attention being paid to preserving privacy. EMERCOM GO is a multi-platform security system, based on an app and a web application, which facilitates the real-time coordination of security, emergency and civil defence services. Integrated into this technological application are such solutions as geolocation and instant messaging services, in addition to the ability to submit information in multimedia format.

Consideration for the award attached great value to the fact that the platform is designed to guarantee people’s privacy. As the APDCAT director María Àngels Barbarà explained, “The prize recognises not only an attitude which involves taking data protection into account from the very outset of the application design, but also that it has been methodically integrated in the conception and development process of the technical solution, putting it one step ahead of what will most likely be an obligation in the future European data protection regulation.”

During the award presentation ceremony, the company’s technology advisor Jaume González highlighted the value of the platform in optimizing the action of personnel who participate in emergency situations, especially the police force. “Sharing information about incidents improves the efficacy and efficiency of available resources. The application’s relevance lies precisely in how it allows the exchange of information, while protecting the privacy and security of this information at all times thanks to its access and cyphering systems, together with a strict application throughout the project of the principles of personal data protection.” The UPC’s Laboratory of Multimedia Applications also took part in design of the platform.

GENESYS and CatSalut Respon obtain Honourable Mentions

The GENESYS initiative from the Girona-based company Audifilm Abi SL, specialists in ICT projects for the public sector, was awarded the first Honourable Mention. GENESYS is a management system currently in operation in some seventy local authorities, most of them in Catalonia, which answers the needs of public-sector management by facilitating interoperability with external systems. Thus, in one same database environment and at all times ensuring security in access to information and the web architecture, the system integrates both the internal management of public organisations as well as aspects related to external activity, such as e-administration or managing transparency and accountability.

The second Honourable Mention was awarded to the 061 CatSalut Respon app, developed by the SEM (Medical Emergencies System). This application, which in six months has reached some 25,680 downloads and engaged in over 1,000 calls with geolocation, enhances and facilitates access to the 061 CatSalut Respon healthcare and telephone assistance services. On receipt of a call from a smartphone, the app can identify the user and access their medical records, while simultaneously locating the caller through geolocation of the device being used.

María Àngels Barbarà gave the event’s opening address. The APDCAT director pointed out that, “The design of technologies must include the guarantee of privacy at the same time as it continues innovating and evolving towards technological developments that improve our cities and, in short, our very society”. She insists that, “Opening discussion around Smart Cities will help us find answers and share solutions to ensure that privacy becomes an added value with which we all win: citizens, institutions and the private sector alike.”

Peter Schaar, Chairman of the European Academy for Freedom of Information and Data Protection (EAID) and former German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information presented the event’s keynote speech. This expert indicated that, “Data is the new oil of today’s information society”, and that “The Internet is no longer a sphere of data floating around the real world; it is in fact determining more and more what the real world is.” He also maintained that a world completely dominated by the ICTs is incompatible with the idea of a democratic society.

The meeting featured a space in which participants, led by the Barcelona, Tarragona and Cambrils Councils, explained their experiences regarding Smart Cities, with the challenges faced and responses provided when designing intelligent systems that preserve people’s privacy, anonymity and security also being addressed. Participants in this round table included Lluís Sanz, director of Base Information of Barcelona City Council, Xavier Reina from the Technology Department of Tarragona City Council, and Pep Budi, head of New Technologies of Cambrils Town Council.

The APDCAT would like to congratulate all award winners in the 2015 edition and to express our thanks to all those who presented their entries.