Data Protection Act to come into force on Jan 2

The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) will kick in on Jan 2 next year, alongside a newly formed Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and its advisory committee, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said yesterday.

From the time the Act kicks in, companies will have at least 18 months - until mid-2014 - to comply with the PDPA. This Act, which was passed in Parliament on Oct 15, 2012, is aimed at preventing the misuse of personal information. It will govern how businesses collect, use, protect, correct and provide access to personal data.

The Do Not Call (DNC) registry, which falls under the PDPA, will come into force at least 12 months after the law comes into effect, in early 2014.

Individuals will be able to sign up with the registry in order to opt out of receiving marketing messages.

Firms and organisations will have to check individuals' numbers against the registry before sending them messages that might be construed as having a marketing purpose.

Yesterday, the six members of the PDPC, which will administer and enforce the Act, were named for a three-year term. The commission will be chaired by Leong Keng Thai, deputy chief executive and director-general of telecoms and post, for the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

"During the transition period, the commission will work closely with sectoral regulators and associations to help organisations comply with the Act to adjust their data protection practices, and embark on public education and engagement programmes to help consumers better understand how they may protect their own personal data from misuse," Mr Leong said.

The other five members of the commission are also from the IDA.

The commission will be supported by the Data Protection Advisory Committee, which will advise it on the enforcement and administration of the Act.

The advisory committee, appointed for a two-year team, is helmed by Liew Woon Yin, director of intellectual property consultancy Abundanti and the former director-general of Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.

The other people on the eight-member committee include special research adviser at the Institute of Policy Studies Arun Mahizhnan, dean and professor of law at the National University of Singapore Simon Chesterman, CEO of the Singapore Business Federation Ho Meng Kit and president of the Consumers Association of Singapore Lim Biow Chuan.

Under the Act, firms that contravene the data protection and DNC provisions will be fined up to $1 million and $10,000 per offence, respectively.

From Jan 2, information on data protection and the DNC registry can be found at www.pdpc.gov.sg.

Source: Business Times –21 December 2012