Privacy Protection/Digital Services/Press Freedom

We are living in a ‘crazy’ world. Just look at the three issues I am highlighting today:

Privacy and the CBPR System:  The Path Forward

Given the deep interest of the Philippine private sector, specifically the BPO industry, and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) in becoming an active and constructive player in the personal and sensitive data flow across international borders, it is exciting to note that there was a multistakeholder workshop on the above subject in the US from 26 to 28 April this week.

We, who are seriously involved and global cooperation in data privacy protection and making full use of the Data Flows Regulation - CBPR System (Cross Border Privacy Rules), watched the proceedings with deep interest and tried to contribute to update the participants about the developments here and gave some indications regarding the progress of the NPC in becoming an active participant in the APEC CBPR and its implementation through local Accountability Agents.

EU Digital Services Act Passed

European Union officials passed sweeping new legislation over the last weekend that would require the world’s biggest tech companies to regulate their platforms or potentially risk facing billions in fines.

 Among other provisions, the Digital Services Act will require companies like Meta (Facebook), Twitter, Google, and others to more aggressively remove harmful content, increase transparency around their algorithms, and limit the spread of potential misinformation. The bill, which targets platforms with more than 45 million monthly active users, would also prevent companies from delivering targeted ads to users based on gender, race, and religion.

The bill is separate from the Digital Markets Act, agreed upon in March, meant to increase competition among internet tech companies.

Freedom of the Press

On March 5, 1965, a letter from Paul Sethe read: “Freedom of the press is the freedom of two hundred rich people to express their opinions. He who is rich is free.” The publicist, once co-editor of a German leading newspaper, was referring to German newspapers and their owners. Today, 57 years and a few waves of globalization later, one has to apply “free equals rich” to 200 billionaires in the western world. Their names are Rupert Murdoch, John Elkann and Bernard Arnault (from the old guard) or Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Tim Cook, Robin Li and Pony Ma (from the new guard).

And since earlier this week also Elon Musk, software genius, who makes headlines with Tesla, SpaceX and Neuralink, and his new acquisition of Twitter. Freedom of the press in 2022 means being your own spin doctor.

I would appreciate your feedback regarding these three above issues that are affecting us as companies and individuals. Please contact me at [email protected]