On July 27, the Department of Commerce announced that the United States is a now a participant in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (“APEC”) Cross Border Privacy Rules system, and that the FTC will serve as the system’s first privacy enforcement authority.
The APEC cross-border privacy system is a self-regulatory initiative that includes a baseline set of voluntary, but enforceable, privacy practices for companies exchanging consumer data between participating APEC countries. The goals of the system are to promote trade and economic growth, boost consumer privacy protections, and facilitate electronic commerce.
The Department of Commerce views U.S. participation in the system as a key step in implementing the Obama administration’s February 2012 Data Privacy Blueprint by allowing companies within the U.S. and in participating APEC economies to more efficiently and securely exchange data.
There are currently 21 member economies in APEC, which together account for 55% of world gross domestic product and 44% of world trade. In addition to the United States, the members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The U.S. intends to launch the system in the next 6 months.
