What Businesses Get Wrong About Regulators and How to Fix Privacy Fast with Brent Homan of the Office of the Data Protection Authority

Privacy, digital rights, and government responses to new technology are under heavy pressure right now as AI scales and more of life happens online. But data protection is not a partisan or optional issue. No matter who is in power or where people live, safeguarding personal information and basic freedoms takes constant vigilance and a readiness to push back on harmful uses of tech.

Brent Homan, Commissioner of the Office of the Data Protection Authority, shares how modern enforcement works in practice. He explains why privacy is universal, how regulators move quickly through cooperation, and what privacy by design must look like as AI and youth-focused platforms expand.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:00 Introduction.
• 05:05 Many privacy leaders come from wider public-interest work. 
• 13:10 Good enforcement aims for fast, fair fixes first. 
• 19:39 Ongoing regulator-business dialogue prevents bigger harms. 
• 24:54 Cross-border teamwork strengthens oversight. 
• 28:14 Youth privacy improves when adults listen and guide. 
• 34:32 Digital safety grows through habits and learning. 
• 39:23 Privacy supports informed choice, not secrecy. 
• 46:13 Privacy-by-design matters most as AI expands.

Episode Resources:

• Office of the Data Protection Authority website
• Global Privacy Assembly
• Global Privacy Enforcement Network sweep
•  ODPA Guernsey podcast