THE European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has advised domestic companies to work closely together with European Union (EU) firms to achieve compliance as the bloc implements its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“There must be a close coordination between Philippine companies and the European companies they deal with on the other hand to make sure that business transactions will not be disrupted because of this new development on data protection,” ECCP President Guenter Taus said in a text message over the weekend.

Philippine businesses that service EU-based companies or process information of citizens from the EU will have to adjust to the GDPR, he said.

The regulation will take effect May 25 and impose significant sanctions on violators of up to 4 million euros or 4% of a company’s global turnover.

Among the sectors that may be affected are the business process outsourcing industry which processes information of customers across the gobe.

The Contact Center Association of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of call centers in the country, said it has been undertaking preparations as the regulation takes effect.

The law requires businesses to appoint experts to handle EU-based client data to prevent any mishandling of information that may be confidential.

The National Privacy Commission has expressed confidence that the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 will meet the GDPR data protection standards.

The country was the first in Southeast Asia to adopt a set of data privacy rules, mainly, in response to the rise of digital e-commerce and trade. — Janina C. Lim

This article was originally published in Business World Online on April 22, 2018»