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Protecting Citizens from Identity Theft and Unauthorized Use of Personal Data in a Digital Guyana
Dear Editor,
The government’s push toward digitizing public services, including healthcare, social services, and policing, has the potential to improve efficiency, access, and service delivery across Guyana. A few months ago, during a conversation with a close friend and former Presidential Advisor to Donald Ramotar, I remarked that one of the best things the current administration could do would be to modernize selected public systems through digitization.
Shortly after the elections, President Ali began advancing similar ideas. I was impressed by the speed and direction of that shift. Coincidence, perhaps, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.
However, digitization should not move ahead without strong legal safeguards, system protections, and public education.Many people still do not fully understand how digital systems change the way personal information is collected, stored, shared, and used.When citizens register for services, information such as addresses, phone numbers, employment records, medical information, family details, and identification numbers may be stored in databases and shared across agencies or even with third-party companies.
The issue is not digitization itself, but who has access to this information, how securely it is stored, whether systems are encrypted, how long data is kept, and what protections exist against abuse, leaks, or cyberattacks.
Without strong privacy and data protection laws, digitization can create serious risks. Personal information can be stolen, sold, leaked, or used for identity theft and financial fraud. Data can also be used to target or profile persons politically, commercially, or otherwise.In the wrong hands, digital information can reveal people’s movements, health conditions, financial circumstances, employment history, or political associations. These are not imaginary concerns. Across the world, governments and private companies continue to face major data breaches, misuse of personal information, and growing concerns over surveillance, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic decision-making.
Digitization can absolutely help Guyana modernize,but modernization without legal protections and system guardrails creates new vulnerabilities. Technology should not move ahead of accountability, public understanding, and the law. I know that the government is serious about Guyana becoming a modern digital society, therefore privacy and data protection laws must become part of that process now, not after problems emerge.
Regards,
Rawle A. Small
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