The National Privacy Commission's website revamp
Have you been to the National Privacy Commission’s website lately? If you haven’t, you’d be pleasantly surprised to know that the NPC has revamped its website. It is now so much easier to get practical and usable information on how to comply with the Date Privacy Act (DPA).
NPC officials have been going around the country, conducting road shows for government, local government, and private corporations, encouraging everyone to comply with the DPA. This is important and gruelling work but it’s not like the NPC has a choice in the matter. After all, once September 9, 2017 comes, it’s all systems go for compliance with the DPA. The NPC will not be able to reach every corner of the country before the deadline comes, so the website will be a big help in guiding people on what to do.
The NPC has created such a useful guide that you may be tempted to ask: do we really need to engage a lawyer to help us get ready for compliance? My answer is a definite yes.
While the requirements may now be a bit easier to understand, everyone will still have to anticipate the ramifications of the law and its impact on their operations. The way each company does business is different and so a template Privacy Policy will not work for everyone. Also, while a company may have succeeded in designating an officer with sufficient knowledge of the DPA as the Data Protection Officer, a lawyer would still serve as an invaluable guide for the DPO and Management. Remember that even template contracts with service providers and other third parties within whom the company may be sharing data will have to be reviewed. This is not only to comply with the DPA but, more importantly, to ensure that the company’s ass is sufficiently covered in case it becomes the subject of a security incident or a data breach.
I will also stress the importance of looking at the background of your lawyer. Not all lawyers will be familiar with the DPA and data privacy principles in general. After all, you don’t want to be following the lead of the pied piper.