JAMAICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Samantha Moore, Marc Ramsay and Chantelle Biersay, Ramsay & Partners
In this decision, the claimant alleged that her employ - er’s disclosure and dissemination of her personal data to a third-party company for the purposes of conduct - ing background checks was unlawful and in breach of the DPA. The Supreme Court ruled that the employer’s processing of personal data for background checks was permissible under the DPA. The decision pointed out that the DPA allows for the processing of personal data in certain circumstances, which include confi - dential background checks related to prospective employment. Note that privacy litigation is not yet common in Jamaica. 2.3 Collective Redress Mechanisms The DPA is silent with respect to collective redress. We do not have legislation in Jamaica which specifically governs collective redress. 3. Requirements for the Protection and Processing of Non-Personal Data 3.1 Objectives and Scope of Data Regulation We do not have laws and/or regulations in Jamaica relating to the protection and processing of non- personal data. We are not aware of any plans by the government to enact laws similar to the EU Data Act in the near future. 3.2 Interaction of Data Regulation and Data Protection Not applicable in this jurisdiction. 3.3 Rights and Obligations Under Applicable Data Regulation Not applicable in this jurisdiction. 3.4 Regulators and Enforcement Not applicable in this jurisdiction.
identifiers would be governed indirectly by the DPA once they can be used to personally identify an indi - vidual. In practice, the following are usually treated as per - sonal data: • IP addresses; • mobile advertising IDs; • persistent cookies and SDK identifiers; • device fingerprints; and • analytics or ad IDs tied to accounts, profiles or behavioural patterns. In Jamaica, online tracking is legal only insofar as it complies with general data protection principles. Note, however, that unfair or excessive tracking would be unlawful, and consent is effectively required for most advertising and cross-platform tracking technologies. 4.2 Personalised Advertising and Other Online Marketing Practices Under the DPA, a data subject has the right to prevent processing of his/her personal data for direct market - ing purposes unless the data subject gives his/her consent and/or is an existing customer of the data controller. This rule would also apply to sensitive or children’s data. Where consent is relied on, it must be: • freely given; • specific; Where sensitive data is involved (eg, health, biom - etrics), consent must also be explicit and in writing. 4.3 Employment Privacy Law In Jamaica, the privacy rights of employees are gov - erned by the DPA along with general privacy principles and existing employment law. While the DPA does not include employment-specific provisions, its standards and individual rights apply broadly to employee-relat - ed data processing, including recruitment, monitor - ing, remote work arrangements, IT/BYOD policies, • informed; and • unambiguous.
4. Sectoral Topics 4.1 Use of Cookies
Jamaica does not have a specific statute which gov - erns cookies, SDKs and other device identifiers. Such
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