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The Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate:

1) works to defend the right of all people to obtain information about the operations of agencies;

2) works to ensure that the inviolability of private life is respected in the use of personal data; and

3) works to defend the right of all people to access data gathered in regard to themselves.

In order to defend these constitutional rights:

1)  everyone has the right to register complaints with the inspectorate;
2)  we initiate supervision if rapid intervention is required;
3)  we can issue precepts and impose fines;
4)  we register the processing of sensitive personal data;
5)  we approve public sector databases;
6)  we draft guidelines for the processing of personal data and in the area of public information;
7)  we take part in the joint supervision of cross-border European information systems;
8)  we are on the working group formed on the basis of article 29 of the European Data Protection Directive, which harmonises the implementation of data protection in Member States;
9)   we issue permits for the forwarding of personal data to countries with an inadequate level of data protection; and
10) we issue permits for the use of personal data in research studies without the consent of the data subject.
 
The Director-General of the Data Protection Inspectorate is appointed for a period of 5 years by the Government of the Republic on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and taking into consideration the opinions of the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament).
The Director-General has the right to report directly to the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu and to the Chancellor of Justice (Parliamentary Ombudsman).
  • The first Personal Data Protection Act entered force in Estonia in 1996.
  • The Data Protection Inspectorate was founded in 1999.
  • We have been the supervising agency of the Public Information Act since 2001.
  • The current Personal Data Protection Act entered force in 2008.
Our goal is to help design a society that values the right of the individual to privacy and the transparency of the state's activities.

As a recognised expert in this field, we strike a fair balance between the fundamental rights of individuals and public and business interests.