Singapore's New Data Protection Authority: Strong Enforcement Powers and Business Risks

Privacy Laws & Business International Report, Issue 121, February 2012, 14-16

UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2013-25

5 Pages Posted: 16 Apr 2013

See all articles by Graham Greenleaf

Graham Greenleaf

University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) has quickly brought into effect on 2 January 2013 the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) enacted in October 2012. This article analyses the enforcement aspects of the Act. The data protection principles in the Act are analysed in http://ssrn.com/abstract=2212608.

The structure and functions of the Personal Data Protection Commission are explained, and why it is not as an independent statutory authority. The article examined the various methods of dispute resolution at its disposal; avenues of appeal; the extent of transparency of the complaint and appeals processes and the advantages and disadvantages of this; and the remedies available, including through the courts as well as the Commission. The vicarious liability of employers for breaches and the personal liability on company officers for offences give non-compliance an unusual level of risk.

The article concludes that although the standards for compliance with Singapore’s Act may not turn out to be very high, and it has exemptions of sweeping and partly unknown scope, that Act appears to have a serious and multi-faceted ‘enforcement pyramid.’ It is a data privacy law which may have surprising results.

Keywords: data protection, privacy, Singapore, data protection authority, DPA

Suggested Citation

Greenleaf, Graham, Singapore's New Data Protection Authority: Strong Enforcement Powers and Business Risks (2012). Privacy Laws & Business International Report, Issue 121, February 2012, 14-16, UNSW Law Research Paper No. 2013-25, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2251284

Graham Greenleaf (Contact Author)

University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law ( email )

Sydney, New South Wales 2052
Australia
+61 2 9385 2233 (Phone)
+61 2 9385 1175 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~graham

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