Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio

The Director of Data Protection Investigations of the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, Mr. Carlos Enrique Salazar Muñoz, attended the 49th APPA Forum celebrated in San Francisco, United States, from June 25 to 26, 2018.

APPA is a forum for privacy authorities in the Asia Pacific region. It gives privacy authorities in the region an opportunity to form partnerships, discuss best practices and to share information on emerging technology, trends and changes to privacy regulation.

Over these two days, APPA members and invited guests, discussed global privacy trends, exchange local experiences and sought opportunities for cooperation on education and enforcement activities across the Asia Pacific Region.

Day one topics such as compliance and enforcement, international collaboration, law reform, and outreach and publications, were discussed. In this session, members suggested the Governance Committee explore ways to assess and improve mechanisms for investigatory cooperation among APPA regulatory authorities.

In the first day, APPA members also shared global privacy updates and developments. These included reports on the Global Privacy Enforcement Network’s initiatives; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s meeting in Papua New Guinea earlier this year; the ongoing projects of the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners; and updates on the Ibero-American Network of Data Protection, the Common Thread Network, and the International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications.

Day two consisted of three panels and two presentations.  The first panel addressed the United States’ multi-faceted approach to privacy and data security, with discussion among panelists from federal and state enforcers, as well as from a private law firm. Next, there was a presentation by an academic researcher on the “Internet of Listening Things,” which explored the collection of personal information through internet-connected devices as well as consumer expectations about the privacy and security of connected toys. Another presentation by a representative of the City of San Francisco displayed the city’s initiatives to allow the use of government data for public interest purposes while also maintaining appropriate privacy safeguards.

In the afternoon, one panel examined the privacy challenges faced by start-ups and small businesses.  Panelists from a law firm, two companies, and a business advisory group discussed the compliance hurdles and tradeoffs encountered by start-ups and growing companies, as well as what resources regulators can usefully provide.

The final panel of the day looked at the elements of accountable and interoperable cross-border data flows, as viewed by representatives of multinational corporations who depend on global data transfers and must navigate myriad global transfer requirements.

These panels and presentations enabled Mr. Carlos Enrique Salazar to acquire a better knowledge of the challenges faced by authorities and companies on personal data protection, enriching the work of the SIC in the field.