FOICA is a pioneer in promoting data protection standards and increasing public awareness in Armenia. FOICA played a crucial role in developing and adopting the Armenian Data Protection Law in 2015. After the adoption of the law, FOICA initiated a number of actions to ensure increased awareness and skills among officials, businesses, media representatives, NGOs, and the wider public. In particular, FOICA organized a number of training sessions with business representatives, officials of government bodies, school teachers, and journalists on how to ensure data protection standards in their professional experience. Public campaigns run in offline and online platforms including in social networks led to the formation of basic knowledge and awareness among the wider public about data protection rules.

Legal consultations on data protection local and international rules are provided on an everyday basis to officials, journalists, NGOs, and citizens. FOICA also cooperates with the DP Agency to complete its strategy and supplement its tasks by providing guidance, training, and raising awareness. While raising awareness of the data subjects and public and private sector representatives through awareness-raising campaigns and trainings, the FOICA applied the “golden rules of data protection «so that a more important number of individuals and companies know when the legislation applies to data controllers and data subjects and what consequences it entails.

The FOICA also actively appealed violation cases on the data protection rights of the citizens in 2018-2020. The Center filed 3 administrative appeals in the RA DP Agency and won the cases which restored the violated data protection rights of children, employees, and citizens, as well as increased their awareness. FOICA with GIZ Yerevan office support conducted a baseline assessment of personal data protection and data security at the local level in Armenia. The experts’ group developed an assessment report along with specific recommendations aimed at improving PDP practice at the local level. The expert group also assessed the existing mechanisms in municipalities to inform citizens of their rights and duties in case of processing their data.

FOICA with the GIZ Yerevan office support developed Internal Guidelines on personal data protection rules and information security, produced Information cards on PDP for citizens of local government bodies, and conducted trainings for more than 100 local government officials based on developed Guidelines and international best practices.