Privacy commission to use pseudonyms

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) is set to use pseudonyms in publishing the names of data subjects on its website in a bid to prevent safety risks posed by disclosure of personal information.

Through an advisory, the NPC prohibited the disclosure of complete names of data subjects in a case.

In cases where the mention of the address is material, only the province or city shall be cited, said NPC commissioner Raymund Liboro.

“Publishing our cases to the public not only promotes transparency but also contributes in educating the public of data privacy,” he said.

“However, to better perform our mandate of protecting data subjects, we found the need to further sanitize published case decisions of personal information that distinctly identify a data subject,” Liboro added.

In addition to pseudonymizing published cases, the NPC will also limit the publication of cases, orders and resolutions that have not been disposed with finality, he said.

Through an advisory, the NPC prohibited the disclosure of complete names of data subjects in a case.

These cases include those decided on the basis of compromise or mediated settlement agreements, quitclaims and other modes of alternative dispute resolutions since these are “not decided on the basis of merit and therefore lack teaching value for the public.”

The NPC will also limit the publication of interlocutory decisions, orders and resolutions that do not dispose of the case or breach notification with finality.

Decisions, orders and resolutions that may be subject of a motion for reconsideration will also be regulated, unless the reglementary period to file such has lapsed.

The NPC guidelines, however, still provide the Commission its own discretion to publish certain decisions, orders and resolutions where public or educational interests prevail, Liboro said.