Local telecommunications players are gearing up to work with the National Privacy Commission to ensure that they are complying with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
The DPA, which seeks to protect the personal information of citizens over various information and communications technology platforms, is currently being routed by the NPC to various sectors and industries for a grounded footing of its implementing rules and regulations.
NPC and the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators co-organized an assembly of telcos, content providers and support technology firms to discuss the current status of data privacy within the industry and collaborate on solutions for potential challenges that may be encountered in the process of compliance.
“Telcos are actually the biggest data owners because they service all the different sectors and entities that the DPA covers. Being virtual custodians or banks of personal data, and also as providers of the communications gateway, telcos have to be the vanguard in protecting data privacy and security,” PCTO vice president Roy Ibay said.
Ibay said the main consideration of telcos was the cost of overhauling current business systems to comply with the DPA rules and regulations. He said these processes would take time, require additional manpower support and even entail changes in the physical structure of work stations.
He said telcos were seeking for further clarification and guidelines on how to manage various government and private sector requests for personal information, particularly in the interest of credit collection and law enforcement.