Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On June 7, 2013, the Japanese Government applied to participate in the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules program. Japan’s application will be reviewed to verify that Japan has the necessary legal mechanisms to ensure that certified companies can be held accountable. If approved, Japan will join the United States and Mexico, which also are APEC-certified economies, and it is likely a number of Japanese seal programs will apply for certification as accountability agents. Once the requisite elements are in place, Japanese companies will be able to apply for approval of their cross-border privacy rules.

Currently APEC and the European Commission are exploring interoperability between the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules program and European Binding Corporate Rules.