THE National Privacy Commission (NPC) said it is participating in setting up an international certification system that will allow interoperability among various jurisdictions with different data protection rules.
In a statement on Wednesday, the NPC said it joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules (APEC CBPR) System in setting up the Global CBPR Forum, with the goal of international recognition for the various data protection regimes.
The certification system will be based on the APEC CBPR and the privacy recognition for processors (PRP) systems. However, the forum’s system will be independently administered from the APEC systems.
“Cross-border data flows will greatly benefit from an interoperable privacy framework. Now more than ever, the world is witnessing how the acceleration of digitalization is giving way to a rapid increase in the collection, use, and transfer of data across borders,” Privacy Commissioner John Henry D. Naga said.
“The Global CBPR Forum’s goal of promoting worldwide expansion and uptake of the Global CBPR and PRP Systems is aligned with the NPC’s vision of upholding the right to privacy and data protection while ensuring free flow of information,” he added.
According to the NPC, the Global CBPR Forum will periodically monitor data protection and privacy standards among members and provide a forum for sharing best practices.
“All approved Accountability Agents and certified companies will automatically be recognized in the new Global CBPR Forum based on the same terms of recognition under the APEC CBPR and PRP Systems,” the NPC said.
“According to the declaration, participating economies in the APEC CBPR System plan to transition operations of the APEC CBPR and PRP Systems to the Global CBPR Forum and will provide at least 30 days’ notice to Accountability Agents,” it added.
The Philippines signed on to the APEC CBPR system in March 2020. The system requires organizations to create and implement privacy policies and practices for all personal information that they have gathered or received that is subject to cross-border transfer to other participating members.
The other economies currently part of the declaration are Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and the US. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
