April 28, 2020 / COVID-19 / Personal Data Protection
INAI communication 134/20 issued on April 28, 2020, by the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information, and Protection of Personal Data (INAI).
The National Transparency System, Access to Information, and Protection of Personal Data (SNT), together with the guarantor agencies comprising SNT, issued the following 11 recommendations:
One. Promote collaborative work between state health authorities and the guarantor agencies of the federal entities in order to promote the implementation of proactive transparency microsites, virtual work tables, and any other type of technological tools, through which timely, accurate, coherent, understandable, updated, and accessible information regarding COVID-19 health emergency will be available to the population, in response to the social information needs in different contexts. Efforts will be made to ensure that the proactive transparency generated at state level are linked to INAI microsite and to those created by the state health agencies to share and enhance information.
Two. Ensure accountability among the obligated persons regarding the exercise of public expenditure related to the prevention and health care strategies, acquisitions and purchases, financing, programs, and economic support, among others, derived from the health emergency, exhorting that it is published and disseminated as soon as possible, preferably through the proactive transparency microsite and the technological tools implemented to inform about the emergency. The foregoing, without detriment to the information published in other official channels, such as the National Transparency Platform and the transparency portals of the obligated persons.
Three. Monitor that the obligated persons handle personal data appropriately and generate privacy notices, mainly in health matters; and the guarantor agencies must oversee due compliance.
Four. Monitor that the obligated persons document all decisions derived from the COVID-19 health emergency, as well as the organization, conservation, administration, and preservation of documents.
Five. Exhort the obligated persons to attend and respond to the requests for access to information submitted to them, mainly the requests related to the health emergency, as well as any other they may respond, even when the deadlines are suspended. The foregoing, in order to continue ensuring the right of access to information of people, without failing to comply, at all times, with the measures dictated by the health authorities.
Six. Promote the generation of useful and accessible information for the care of women in situations of domestic violence, as well as groups in vulnerable situations (indigenous communities and people with disabilities) through the guarantor agencies.
Seven. Continue with training programs in the various topics that fall under the jurisdiction of the guarantor agencies; promote distance training among the obligated persons and their public officers, and provide virtual and telephone advice to the civil society.
Eight. Encourage the development of virtual sessions of the Plenary Meetings of the guarantor agencies to resolve matters within their competencies.
Nine. Inform the society that the suspension of deadlines of the administrative procedures set forth in the laws in the matter, approved by the relevant guarantor agencies, does not represent the suspension of institutional work. In addition, specify that public officers continue to work from home, in response to the determinations issued by the health authorities of Mexico.
Ten. Disseminate massively the good practices and strategies implemented by the guarantor agencies for the fulfillment of their functions.
Eleven. The guarantor agencies, through their Plenary Meetings and upon previous analysis, may determine the feasibility of activating the deadlines in advance for the obligated persons located in the territorial demarcations, in which the health authorities suspend social isolation.