The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Cross-Border Privacy Rules are poised to become the Asia-Pacific's "plan of record," as more countries begin signing on, Bloomberg BNA reports. The CBPR makes regional trading easier “by treating the transfers of personal data among participating APEC countries pursuant to the single APEC Privacy Framework,” said Baker McKenzie's Yumi Watanabe. The system also requires businesses taking part to establish privacy policies in line with 2004 APEC Privacy Framework specifications, a boon for compliance among APEC economies, said Hunton Williams' Markus Heyder. "Any instances where national laws differ can be handled on a case-by-case basis," he added. Additionally, individual companies will reap benefits from CBPR participation, like improved data handling practices, said Hogan Lovells' Mark Parsons. The "market perception" of earning the CBPR's trust-mark is another "obvious benefit," he said.
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