US FTC welcomes APEC privacy rules



The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has welcomed the approval of APEC cross-border-privacy rules by APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) members in meeting in Hawaii on 13 November. The APEC privacy system aims at harmonising privacy protection for cross-border data transfers between the APEC members, and is based on a review and certification process by third parties.

FTC Commissioner, Edith Ramirez said:

“With personal information now moving around the world in the blink of an eye, we need pragmatic ways to bridge the gaps between different legal systems and privacy regimes. The APEC privacy rules have the potential to significantly benefit companies, consumers, and privacy regulators and move us closer to global interoperability of privacy regimes.”

APEC member economies expect to launch the new privacy system next year. The APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Privacy Laws & Business’s Asia-Pacific Conference on 15th December in London will provide detailed information on national developments in this region and also assess the APEC initiative. For further information and to register, visit www.privacylaws.com/pon_32