Are you looking for the website of a data protection authority (DPA), commissioner or regulator? They have different names, but they all perform a similar function. The names include regulator, commissioner, commission, directorate, office, authority, and supervisor. This is who might investigate you, search your offices, fine you or sue you for damages. This (together with data subjects) could be your adversary. It is important to be aware of who they are.
Some regulate just privacy or data protection, whilst others regulate both data protection and access to (or freedom of) information.
List of data protection authorities, Information commissioners or regulators (DPAs)
Africa
- Angola National Data Protection Authority
- Cape Verde National Commission of Data Protection
- Chad Agence Nationale de Sécurité Informatique et de Certification Électronique
- Gabon Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel
- Ghana Data Protection Commission
- Ivory Coast Telecommunications/ICT Regulatory Authority of Côte d’Ivoire
- Kenya Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
- Mali Data Protection Authority
- Mauritius Data Protection Office (Prime Minister’s Office)
- Morocco Commission Nationale de contrôle de la protection des Données à caractère Personnel
- Niger High Authority for the Protection of Personal Data
- Nigeria Data Protection Bureau
- Rwanda National Cyber Security Authority
- South Africa Information Regulator (Read more about the Information Regulator)
- Tunisia National Authority of Data Protection
- Uganda National Information Technology Authority
- Zimbabwe Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority
United Kingdom
- United Kingdom Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Americas
- United States
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Attorney General, State of California
- Canada
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner
- Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia
- Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ontario
- Information and Privacy Commissioner, Saskatchewan
- Mexico National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data
- Argentina Dirección Nacional de Protección de Datos Personales
- Brazil Data Protection Authority
- Costa Rica Data Protection Authority
- Panama National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information and The National Authority for Government Innovation
- Peru Data Protection Authority
- Uruguay Data Protection Authority
European Union
- Belgium Data Protection Commission
- Croatia Personal Data Protection Agency
- European Union European Data Protection Supervisor
- European Data Protection Board (EDPB)
- France: Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL)
- Germany
- Gibraltar Gibraltar Regulatory Authority
- Greece The Hellenic Data Protection Authority
- Guernsey Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
- Italy Garante Per La Protezione Dei Dati Personali
- Ireland Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
- Isle of Man Information Commissioner
- Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner
- Netherlands
- Dutch Data Protection Authority
- The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM)
- Spain Agencia Española de Protección de Datos; Catalan Data Protection Authority
- Switzerland Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner
Australia and New Zealand
- Australia
- New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Asia
- China (Special Administrative Regions)
- Japan Personal Information Protection Commission
- Republic of Korea
- Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission
- Taiwan National Development Council
- Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications
Middle East
- Bahrain Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs
- Israel The Israeli Law, Information and Technology Authority
- Oman Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology
Other places to find a data protection authority (DPA), commissioner or regulator
The European authorities are well documented. The International Conference of DPAs and the GPEN website are useful resources for finding a DPA. The Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) was established to foster cross-border co-operation among privacy authorities and is an important network that represents many authorities around the world. The Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA) was established in September 2016 and comprises several African privacy and data protection authorities from different geographical and linguistic areas.