APEC vs APT?: The struggle for regional privacy standards

Graham Greenleaf

‘Terrorists & Watchdogs’ Conference, 8 September 2003

See http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~graham/ for updates / details

Regional privacy standards There is no global standard One region (Europe) has successfully

developed regional standards Council of Europe Convention 1981 European privacy Directive 1995

The Asia-Pacific is the next most advanced region in privacy protection Far less political and economic unity or uniformity Starting the most important international privacy

developments since the EU Directive ….

Toward an Asia-Pacific standard APEC’s privacy initiative

Chaired by Australia - US / Aust. initiative Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT)

Chaired by Korea Asia-Pacific Privacy Charter Council

A ‘civil society’ expert group FTAA will also affect some countries

(Free Trade Area of the Americas)

APEC’s privacy Principles Australia chairs a working group of 10

countries since Feb 03 Starting point: OECD Guidelines (1981) What’s the purpose?:

A minimum standard where compliance will (somehow) justify regional free flow of person information

A standard which will encourage (minimum) protection in countries where there is none

APEC’s privacy Principles - Progress or stagnation? 5 draft versions in 6 months

Do not yet reach OECD standards Only considering very minor improvements

to OECD V2 strengthened V1, but V3 and V4 far

weaker for little apparent reason Serious US input coincides with V3

At best it offers ‘OECD Lite’ ….

APEC’s ‘OECD Lite’ Examples of weak and outdated standards

Based on Chair’s V4 (Aug 03) - now behind closed doors No objective limits on information collection (P1) No requirement of notice to the data subject at time

of collection (P3) Secondary uses allowed if ‘not incompatible’ (P3) OECD Parts 1, 3, 4 and 5 all missing as yet Farcical national self-assessment proposed (V1)

Why start from a 20 year old standard? Most regional countries are not members Recognised as inadequate (eg Kirby J 1999)

The alternative: A real Asia-Pacific standard Actual standards of regional privacy laws

Eg Korea, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Argentina

Principles stronger than OECD are common Expert input is needed to identity this standard, not

filtered through governments Privacy Commissioner need a collective role

No equivalent yet to A29 Committee Santiago (Feb 04) only offers input on implementation Asia-Pacific NGO experts are developing the APPCC

We need to adopt and learn from 25 years regional experience, not ignore it

Examples of high regional standards

Collection objectively limited to where necessary for functions or activities (HK, Aus, NZ - Can stricter)

Notice upon collection (Aus, NZ, HK, Kor) Secondary use only for a directly related

purpose (HK, NZ, Aus - Kor stricter) Right to have recipients of corrected

information informed (NSW, NZ) Deletion after use (HK, NZ, NSW, Kor)

APT privacy Guidelines (draft) Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) 32 states via Telecomms ministries (etc) Guidelines on the Protection of Personal Information

and Privacy (draft), July 2003 Drafting by KISA (Korea), with Asian Privacy Forum

Attempts to take a distinctive regional approach Explicitly not based solely on OECD or EU (cl8) Says OECD Guidelines ‘reflect … the 70s and 80s’ ‘Concrete implementation measures’ unlike OECD Allows more variation between States that EU Emphasises role of government, not litigation Adds new Principles in at least five areas …

APT Guidelines - implementation Legislation required + self-regulation encouraged A privacy supervisory authority required

Supervision and complaint investigation Data export limits may be ‘reasonably required’ to

protect ‘privacy, rights and freedoms’; free flow of information otherwise required

Limits on these guidelines only by legislation; only to the extent necessary for other public policies

Common character string need to deal with spam

APT Guidelines - new Principles No disadvantage for exercising privacy rights

(A5(2)) Notification of corrected information to 3rd party

recipients (A6(4)) ‘Openness’ of logic of automated processes (A7) No secondary use without consent (A 14(2)) Deletion if consent to hold is withdrawn (A16) Duties on change of information controller (A19) Special provision on children’s information (A34) Personal location information Principle (A30) Unsolicited communications Princple (A31)

Conclusions Why are APEC and APT so different?

Membership similar except for the USA Australia’s APEC initiative had a defensive

and outdated starting point (OECD) Inadequate process: no collective expert

input, and now behind closed doors OECD Guidelines were by an ‘expert group’

A more consultative, confident, and region-based APEC initiative is needed

Coda: APPCC contribution Asia-Pacific Privacy Charter Council

35 non-government privacy experts from 10 regional countries, and growing

On 12/11/03, meeting to consider 1st working draft Headings of Principles under consideration for

Charter are over - only a first draft Covers surveillance and intrusions as well as IPPs An attempt to find a positive regional standard

APPCC draftPart I - General Principles

1. Justification and proportionality

2. Consent

3. Accountability

4. Openness

5. Non-discrimination

6. Reasons for non-compliance

APPCC draft - Part II - Information Privacy Principles7. Anonymous transactions 14. Retention limitation

8. Collection limitation 15. Public registers

9.Identifier limitation 16. Information security

10. Information quality 17. Automated decisions

11. Use and disclosure limitations

18.Identity protection

12.Export limitations 19.Disclosure of private facts

13. Access and correction

APPCC draft - Part III - Surveillance limitation principles

20. Surveillance justification

21. Notice of overt surveillance

22. Approval of covert surveillance

23. Accountability for covert surveillance

24. Surveillance security

25. Surveillance materials

26. Transborder surveillance

APPCC draft - Part IV - Intrusion limitation principles

27. Intrusion limitation

28. Bodily privacy

29. Biometrics limitation

30. Private space

31. Communications & cyberspace privacy

32. Personal location limitation

33. Unsolicited communication limitation

APPCC principles - Part V - Implementation and compliance principles

34.Implementation by law 40.Independent appeal

35.Sufficient implementation measures

41.Transparency of official actions

36.Supervisory body 42.Individual recourse to Courts

37.Privacy impact assessments

43.International cooperation

38.Sufficient remedies for breach

44.Jurisdictional certainty

39. Obligations of information subjects