Cayman Islands Publishes Data Protection Bill

The Cayman Islands government has published the Data Protection Bill, 2016 (the "Bill") which proposes a framework of rights and duties designed to safeguard individuals' personal data, balanced against the need of public authorities, businesses and organisations to collect and use personal data for legitimate purposes. The Bill was developed in line with international best practices while ensuring that it reflects the specific needs of the Cayman Islands. It is based substantially on the Data Protection Act, 1998 of the United Kingdom.

The Bill is centred around eight data protection principles requiring that personal data must:

1. be processed fairly and only when specific conditions are met, for instance where consent has been given, where there is a legal obligation, or where it is necessary for performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party. Additional conditions apply in respect of "sensitive" personal data (examples of which include, racial