GPA: DPAs in the AI Era: Global Alignment and Capacity Building

Part of the Global Privacy Assembly Open Programme.

Emerging data protection authorities face the dual challenge: establishing robust legal and institutional foundations while responding to the rapid advancement of AI technologies. In an era where cross-border data flows underpin AI development and deployment, strengthening the capacities of DPAs is essential to achieving a high and consistent standard of privacy protection globally. As the Global Privacy Assembly continues to expand its membership to regions including Africa and the Middle East, the need for capacity building and greater convergence in privacy protection have become increasingly important.

Building on the 47th GPA session on Capacity Building for DPAs: Filling the Gaps, this session will bring together diverse jurisdiction experiences, with a particular focus on institutional and technical readiness to address AI-related challenges. It will provide insights on governance design, enforcement development and the cultivation of technical expertise. Through these discussions, the session aims to strengthen the capacities of emerging DPAs and contribute to greater global alignment in privacy governance.

What you will learn:

• Establishment and institutionalization of a DPA: early-stage challenges for establishing DPAs, institutional consolidation and international cooperation.
• Building capacity to address AI and emerging technologies: Strengthening technical expertise and policy capabilities in response to generative AI, agentic AI, and other emerging technologies; A policy angle about the gap between rules and global implementation.
• Key challenges for emerging DPAs and the pathway forward.