Prime Minister Andrew Holness has assured Jamaica’s citizens that data protection will be an integral part of the data collection process for the 2022 Population and Housing Census.

Addressing today’s (August 10) launch of the new population and housing census, Holness noted that, over the years, citizens have been skeptical about giving census workers personal information.

He assured Jamaicans that, as the country moves to become a digitised society, the Government has invested in data protection resources and will protect citizen’s data.

“The Government itself must be the defender of the privacy and security of citizens data,” said Holness.

“I want to give the assurance that you may not see all we are doing in the background, but the Government has invested significant resources in the collection and storage of data.”

The prime minister added that the Statistics Act is one method that serves as a layer of data protection. Under this legislation, the Statistical Institution of Jamaica (STATIN) is obligated to treat all information collected as confidential.

STATIN is the government agency appointed to collect data for the Census.

In keeping with the Government’s plan to digitise Jamaica, for the first time ever, 7,000 tablets will be used to collect census data.

Holness further assured citizens that census workers are trained in data protection and have a duty to maintain the privacy of the information they see.

TABLETS WILL BE WIPED AND RESET

After, the census process is completed, the tablets used for data collection will be donated to schools across the island, announced STATIN Chairman David Tennant.

However, noted Holness, the tablets will be wiped and reset to ensure that there is no trace of citizens’ data when they are handed over.

The census is slated to begin on September 12 and end in December.