Help for Singapore SMEs to understand personal data protection law

THE Singapore government on Friday announced measures to help companies, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), understand the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which has been in force since July 2, 2014.

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said at a personal data protection seminar that the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), the watchdog body for data protection in Singapore, will collaborate with The Law Society of Singapore to establish a legal advice scheme to help SMEs on matters related to personal data protection.

From June 1, the scheme will provide SMEs with basic legal advice on compliance with the PDPA at a preferential fixed charge of S$500.

During the one-hour consultation, a lawyer assigned by the Law Society, will review a PDPA checklist (completed prior to the consultation) with the SME.

The lawyer will make an initial assessment on whether the SME has complied with the PDPA provisions and will advise on possible next steps.

The SME will also be given preliminary advice on whether there is need for additional legal services or consultation.

Dr Yaacob, who is also Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, also announced that the PDPC and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore have released two guides.

The first provides organisations with a series of steps on how to protect personal data in electronic form while the second is a guide on managing and responding to data breaches.

Both guides are available on the PDPC's website and have been written in a simple and easy manner to understand.