Data privacy compliance firming up

The chairman and commissioner of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) Raymund Liboro on Friday said the country’s data privacy awareness and compliance are starting to mature.

“While looking in the last two years of the commission, we basically raised the stakes through awareness of our stakeholders,” Liboro said at the launching of the Data Privacy Asia Conference 2018.

According to him, some companies have started prioritizing data privacy protection in their operational agenda. However, he said the Philippines is “taking things baby steps at a time” as the country develops that space.

Liboro said internet users are advised to review and update their privacy settings as websites and firms now display their terms of use and privacy policies as a matter of policy and describing this as a “global trend.”

Contact Center Association of the Philippines board director Tonichi Achurra-Parekh said business process outsourcing firms are cautious with their privacy policies.

“What has changed over the past months is that we now have a data protection officer,” Achurra-Parekh said. While there had been similar positions in the past, the CCAP director said this was “a game changer as its role is very specific.”

Despite the positive outlook on the maturing data privacy compliance, Liboro said the challenge now is hiring DPO personnel. “They need to be hands on in their tasks,” he said.

The privacy chairman said the agency sent compliance orders to Jollibee Food Corp. and Wendy’s after both firms reported data breaches a while back.

To recall, Wendy’s was ordered to inform clients about the security breach.