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Global Privacy Assembly

The Global Privacy Assembly (GPA), which was known as the International Data Protection Conference until 2019, serves to exchange views and experiences at a global level. It currently includes over 130 data protection authorities from all over the world as accredited members.

group picture of the participants of the 45th GPA meeting
Source: GPA/BfDI

Organisation of the GPA and the BfDI

The first international conference was held in Bonn in 1979 at the invitation of the then Federal Commissioner for Data Protection. Since then, the conference has been held annually at different locations, including Berlin in 1989 and Strasbourg/Baden-Baden in 2008. At the conference 2019 in Tirana, Albania, it adopted the new name of "Global Privacy Assembly (GPA)". After two virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GPA Annual Conferences resumed the traditional format "on site" and with participants meeting in person, which helps enable an in-depth exchange of information and opinions - most recently at the 45th GPA Annual Conference in Hamilton, Bermuda, in October 2023. The next or 46th Annual Conference of the GPA will take place in October/November 2024 on the Channel Island of Jersey.

The BfDI is a member of the GPA's governing body, the "Executive Committee" as well as of the GPA's Strategic Direction Sub-Committee and he also participates in the GPA's working groups.

The GPA’s work

The GPA regularly discusses globally relevant issues relating to data protection policy and data protection law and develops pertinent resolutions and recommendations. These are aimed at data processing companies, authorities or organisations around the world. At the same time, these documents have an influence on national legislators and thus contribute to good data protection. The documents published as joint positions of the data protection supervisory authorities gathered in the GPA receive great worldwide attention.

In the extended part of the annual conference, the GPA deals with current social, legal and technical developments that have a global impact on the right to privacy. Representatives of international organisations and non-governmental organisations as well as from science and industry also participate in this event. The Conference thus provides impetus at international level for the further development of data protection and the right to privacy – with the aim of safeguarding them even under changing conditions.