MANILA - The 8th National Data Privacy Conference, held as part of Privacy Awareness Week 2025, convened experts, leaders, and professionals for two days at Solaire Resort and Casino.

Under the theme "Global Privacy Matters: Navigating a Borderless Digital World and Expanding New Professional Horizons", the conference delved into the critical intersection of technology and privacy in an increasingly connected world where data knows no borders.

Discussions throughout the event underscored the evolving nature of privacy, framing it as no longer technical or legal issue but a people's issue.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda emphasized that data privacy "is not a privilege but a right". 

The core message resonated: protecting data is ultimately about protecting people. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s vision to "Ensure that every Filipino can participate in the digital economy without fear and with full confidence in the systems designed to protect them" highlighted the importance of a safe digital highway.

President Bong Bong Marcos sends his message to the attendee's of the Privacy Awareness Week 2025, National Privacy Commission FB Page

A major focus was the transformative impact of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. 

Ahmad Bhinder, Director of the Digital Cooperation Organization, stressed that AI and data protection "are no longer parallel conversations; they are deeply intertwined and they have to happen in parallel."

AI is reshaping the world of work, introducing new risks and ethical dilemmas. A key technical insight shared by Dr. Shlomi Hod was the need to rethink what is data.

"We need to start to think about AI models as data by themselves," Hod said.

These AI models can memorize training data, and even if personal identifiable information is removed, interacting with the model could inadvertently reveal sensitive information, potentially leading to "serious privacy harms". 

The movement of AI models trained on data across borders was identified as a potential cross-border violation. This necessitates applying rules, similar in spirit to those for traditional data, to AI models.

Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) were presented as crucial tools for navigating this complex landscape. 

PETs are "essential business enablers" because they allow data to be used in ways that would otherwise be impossible while protecting user privacy, safeguarding sensitive information, and helping with compliance. 

Types of PETs discussed included anonymization, aggregation, federated learning, homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, pseudonization, and data masking. These tools are vital for facilitating data transfers while protecting data. 

However, obstacles to PET adoption persist, including a lack of education and awareness, complexity, cost, and the need for clearer regulatory guidance and industry standards. 

It was noted that "no single PET is a silver bullet" and often a combination is needed. 

Deputy Privacy Commissioner Atty. Jose Belarminio II talks about the borderless nature of data privacy,  National Privacy Commission FB Page

Cross-border data flow remained a central challenge, given that data "travels farther and faster than ever before". 

The "global conversation around privacy is more important and more complex than ever before" partly due to managing differing privacy laws across jurisdictions. 

Efforts like aligning policies and enforcing cross-border privacy rules are crucial. Achieving legal certainty and developing interoperable frameworks, such as collaboration between EU GDPR(General Data Protection Regulation) certifications and the global CBPR(Cross Border Privacy Rules), were highlighted as important steps. 

A risk-based approach to data transfers was also recommended, making lower-risk transfers easier and quicker to foster innovation. 

Attorney Juan Sautero Roman noted that "whenever Filipino data goes, our duty follows."  

"Data may travel but our duty never leaves," he said, underscoring the commitment to protect data regardless of location. 

TRANSFORMING THE PRIVACY WORKFORCE

The evolving technological landscape also demands a transformation of the privacy workforce. 

During the Accountable AI and Data Protection Panel, Mr. Kevin Shepardson said  career prospects of data privacy officers are getting better every year. 

The role of privacy professionals is expanding beyond mere protection to "not only to protect data but to enable data", according to former NPC Commissioner Raymond Liboro. 

This means being "enablers of personal data" and recognizing that "equally important the privacy disaster also is when you cannot use data for good". 

Professionals must help guide organizations and government towards using data responsibly for positive outcomes. This requires sharpening traditional privacy skills and developing new competencies. 

The needed skills include an inquisitive mind, resourcefulness, basic research skills, a foundational understanding of data protection law, and knowledge of privacy harms. 

Crucially, there is a growing need to blend legal and technical expertise and forge strong relationships with technologists within organizations. Understanding what technologists need while simultaneously protecting privacy is essential.

Capacity building, or "capability building," was deemed "foundational" for navigating the new era. This includes training employees on the capabilities and limitations of AI tools.

The conference also highlighted regulatory efforts to keep pace with technology. Hong Kong's PCPD, for instance, released guidance materials like a 2024 Model Framework and a checklist for employees using generative AI to help organizations manage privacy risks and comply with regulations. 

These frameworks provide structural approaches to AI governance. The challenge remains for regulators to "engage directly" with real-world systems and technologists to create effective regulations. 

Ultimately, the conference emphasized that privacy is not just a compliance burden but a driver of innovation and a precondition for trust.

Ahmed Bhinder summarized it best by saying: "Trust is not a byproduct of innovation; it is a precondition.", and it is "what spurs on and what pushes forward the digital progress in today's day and age". 

Building this trust and navigating the borderless digital world requires a collective effort, combining technical solutions, evolving regulations, and a skilled, ethical workforce dedicated to protecting and enabling data for good.

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