Data Privacy Rights
Under RA 10173, people whose personal information is collected, stored, and processed are called data subjects. Organizations who deal with your personal details, whereabouts, and preferences are duty bound to observe and respect your data privacy rights.
If you feel that your personal data has been misused, maliciously disclosed, or improperly disposed, or if any of the rights discussed here have been violated, the data subject has a right to file a complaint with us.
The right to be informed
Under R.A. 10173, your personal data is treated almost literally in the same way as your own personal property. Thus, it should never be collected, processed and stored by any organization without your explicit consent, unless otherwise provided by law. Information controllers usually solicit your consent through a consent form. Aside from protecting you against unfair means of personal data collection, this right also requires personal information controllers (PICs) to notify you if your data have been compromised, in a timely manner.
As a data subject, you have the right to be informed that your personal data will be, are being, or were, collected and processed.
The Right to be Informed is a most basic right as it empowers you as a data subject to consider other actions to protect your data privacy and assert your other privacy rights.
The right to access
This is your right to find out whether an organization holds any personal data about you and if so, gain “reasonable access” to them. Through this right, you may also ask them to provide you with a written description of the kind of information they have about you as well as their purpose/s for holding them.
Under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, you have a right to obtain from an organization a copy of any information relating to you that they have on their computer database and/or manual filing system. It should be provided in an easy-to-access format, accompanied with a full explanation executed in plain language.
You may demand to access the following:
The contents of your personal data that were processed.
The sources from which they were obtained.
Names and addresses of the recipients of your data.
Manner by which they were processed.
Reasons for disclosure to recipients, if there were any.
Information on automated systems where your data is or may be available, and how it may affect you.
Date when your data was last accessed and modified
The identity and address of the personal information controller.
The right to object
You can exercise your right to object if the personal data processing involved is based on consent or on legitimate interest. When you object or withhold your consent, the PIC should no longer process the personal data, unless the processing is pursuant to a subppoena, for obvious purposes (contract, employer-employee relationship, etc.) or a result of a legal obligation.
In case there is any change or amendment to the information previously given to you, you should be notified and given an opportunity to withhold consent.
The right to erasure or blocking
Under the law, you have the right to suspend, withdraw or order the blocking, removal or destruction of your personal data. You can exercise this right upon discovery and substantial proof of the following:
Your personal data is incomplete, outdated, false, or unlawfully obtained.
It is being used for purposes you did not authorize.
The data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which they were collected.
You decided to withdraw consent, or you object to its processing and there is no overriding legal ground for its processing.
The data concerns information prejudicial to the data subject — unless justified by freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press; or otherwise authorized (by court of law)
The processing is unlawful.
The personal information controller, or the personal information processor, violated your rights as data subject.
The right to damages
You may claim compensation if you suffered damages due to inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, false, unlawfully obtained or unauthorized use of personal data, considering any violation of your rights and freedoms as data subject.
The right to file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission
If you feel that your personal information has been misused, maliciously disclosed, or improperly disposed, or that any of your data privacy rights have been violated, you have a right to file a complaint with the NPC.
To know more about this, click here.
The right to rectify
You have the right to dispute and have corrected any inaccuracy or error in the data a personal information controller (PIC) hold about you. The PIC should act on it immediately and accordingly, unless the request is vexatious or unreasonable. Once corrected, the PIC should ensure that your access and receipt of both new and retracted information. PICs should also furnish third parties with said information, should you request it.
The right to data portability
This right assures that YOU remain in full control of YOUR data. Data portability allows you to obtain and electronically move, copy or transfer your data in a secure manner, for further use. It enables the free flow of your personal information across the internet and organizations, according to your preference. This is important especially now that several organizations and services can reuse the same data.
Data portability allows you to manage your personal data in your private device, and to transmit your data from one personal information controller to another. As such, it promotes competition that fosters better services for the public.
Transmissibility of Data Subject Rights
Just like any physical property, such as real estate, you can assign your rights as a data subject to your legal assignee or lawful heir. Similarly, you may assert another person’s rights as a data subject, provided he or she authorized you as a “legal assignee”.
You may also invoke another person’s data privacy rights after his or her death if you are his or her legal heir. This same principle applies to parents of minors, or their legal guardian, who are responsible for asserting their rights on their behalf.
This right, however, is not applicable in case the processed personal data being contested are used only for scientific and statistical research.
Limitations on Rights
The provisions of the law regarding transmissibility of rights and the right to data portability will not apply if the processed personal data are used only for the needs of scientific and statistical research and, based on such, no activities are carried out and no decisions are taken regarding the data subject. There should also be an assurance that the personal data will be held under strict confidentiality and used only for the declared purpose.
They will not also apply to the processing of personal data gathered for investigations in relation to any criminal, administrative or tax liabilities of a data subject. Any limitations on the rights of the data subject should only be to the minimum extent necessary to achieve the purpose of said research or investigation.