PH to support establishing an international certification system promoting interoperability among different data protection frameworks
Member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Cross-Border
Privacy Rules (CBPR) System, including the Philippines, declared the establishment of the Global
CBPR Forum to foster interoperability among different regulatory approaches to data privacy
and protection.
In its Declaration, the Global CBPR Forum stated that it intends to establish an
international certification system based on the APEC CBPR and Privacy Recognition for
Processors (PRP) Systems. The Forum’s system, however, will be independently administered
and is separate from the APEC Systems.
Privacy Commissioner John Henry D. Naga welcomes the Philippines’ involvement in
improving cross-border data flows and fostering innovation without compromising effective
data protection and privacy.
“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. 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,” Naga said.
To ensure that the program is aligned with best practices, the Global CBPR Forum will
periodically review data protection and privacy standards of members and provide a forum for
information exchange and cooperation.
The Global CBPR Forum is open for the participation of jurisdictions that accept its
objectives and principles. 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.
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 Philippines became a member economy of the APEC CBPR System in March 2020.
The APEC CBPR System is voluntary and accountability-based. It requires organizations to
develop and implement privacy policies and practices for all personal information that they have
collected or received that is subject to cross-border transfer to other participating APEC members.
Read the full Global CBPR Forum Declaration
here:.
