The National Privacy Commission (NPC) will introduce reforms aimed at strengthening privacy protection.
In the January 30 fireside chat titled “Insights into the Future: Fireside conversations on data privacy for 2024,” hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals Knowledgenet Philippines, NPC deputy commissioner Leandro Angelo Aguirre bared the agency’s moves in the wake of a series of data privacy breaches on key government agencies as well as on private companies.
Aguirre said the privacy watchdog is poised to release a circular on security measures revising Circular 16-01, which now solely applies to the public sector.
Aguirre said the circular aims to provide basic measures for both the private and public sector to follow.
He said for those working on their compliance, the circular is not intended to establish new requirements but rather to serve as a benchmark for organizations to evaluate their existing security measures.
Aguirre said the Commission will hold public consultation over CCTV issuance and will release rules on tracking mechanisms, with a focus on consent cookies and how they comply with the Circular on Consent.
Aguirre said NPC will also issue an advisory for the protection of lawful rights and interests in court proceedings and the development of legal claims.
The agency will issue a model contractual terms for cross-border transfers, as well as a circular on privacy codes, with the goal of establishing a clear approval process.
Aguirre also bared NPC’s plans to come up with Guidelines on Children’s Privacy, emphasizing a risk-based approach and the significance of taking into account the unique cultural and sociological factors of Filipinos.
As its commitment to transparency, NPC will launch “calls for public input in addition to public consultation.”
These efforts include crafting issuances pertaining to the research exception under Section 4 of the Data Privacy Act, as well as guidelines for data scraping.
“We want to institutionalize this because the input coming from the private sector from people that are actually affected by these issuances is very valuable,” Aguirre said as he highlighted the importance of engaging with affected parties even prior to the drafting of issuances in order to ensure that the regulations are meaningful and well-informed.
Aguirre said expanding basic data privacy education outside of Metro Manila is one of the Commission’s main goals for 2024.
This includes plans for a Data Privacy Foundational Course that can be easily implemented by training providers outside of the capital. The course is designed to be both operational and practical, with benefits for senior management as well as legal professionals and data protection officers.
“We want to democratize access to privacy education,” with the goal of releasing the course materials prior to Privacy Awareness Week in May. The intention is to enable groups outside of Metro Manila to run their own courses with materials from the agency.
NPC is mandated to implement the provisions of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and to ensure the country’s adherence to international data protection standards.
